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DOMESTIC    ECONOMY 


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DOMESTIC    ECONOMY 

IN 

THEORY    AND    PRACTICE 

A     TEXT-BOOK    FOR    TEACHERS    AND 
STUDENTS    IN    TRAINING 


BY 

MARION    GREENWOOD    BIDDER 

•  * 

LATELY   STAFF   LECTURER   OF    NEWNHAM    COLLEGE,   AND   LECTURER 
OF   GIRTON    COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE, 

AND 

FLORENCE    BADDELEY 

ORGANISING   SECRETARY   OF  THE   GLOUCESTERSHIRE   SCHOOL   OF 
COOKERY   AND    DOMESTIC    ECONOMY. 


CAMBRIDGE: 

AT    THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS. 
1901 


MAY  29  ISii 


Cambridge : 

PRINTED    BY   J.    AND    C.    F.    CLAY 
AT   THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS. 


PREFATORY     NOTE. 


THIS  volume  is  intended  for  students  in  training  to 
become  Teachers  of  Domestic  Science  Subjects.  It  is 
an  effort  to  combine  truly  scientific  knowledge  with 
practical  experience,  so  that  both  may  have  their  due 
proportion  in  the  training  of  Teachers  of  Cookery, 
Laundry-work,  Housewifery  and  other  domestic  arts. 
On  the  one  hand  we  desire  an  accurate  scientific  treat- 
ment of  such  elementary  science  as  is  required  in  this 
training,  on  the  other  a  practical  knowledge  of  these 
subjects,  and  of  the  methods  by  which  they  can  make 
their  human  appeal  to  those  who  wish  to  learn  them. 

It  is  a  discredit  that  Teachers  should  expound 
theories  which  they  hold  unintelligently,  or  which  are 
scientifically  incorrect ;  it  is  not  less  essential  that  the 
art  taught  should  be  practised  with  skill,  and  with  the 
beauty  of  complete  success.  A  dominant  question,  there- 
fore, for  those  responsible  for  the  training  of  Teachers 
in  Domestic  Science  is  how  to  give  their  due  proportion 
to  theory  and  to  practice  in  this  training. 

It  is  the  experience  of  all  of  us  that  where  the 
aptitude  for  science  is  strong,  the  skill  in  practice  is 
not  seldom  weak,  and  vice  versa.  But  the  Teacher  is 
bound  to  reject,  such  a  divorce  of  method  from  the 


219359 


vi  Prefatory  Note. 

knowledge  which  alone  makes  it  elastic  and  efficient. 
We  hope  that  the  volume  now  published  exhibits 
science  and  practice  in  their  due  relation  to  each 
other.  Those  who  are  interested  in  this  education  will 
recognise  that  the  scientific  portion  of  the  book  comes 
from  the  pen  of  an  author  who  has  lived  in  the  clear 
atmosphere  of  scientific  truth,  whilst  the  practical 
portion  is  eminently  imbued  with  the  knowledge  both 
of  Domestic  Economy  as  a  practical  art  and  of  the 
methods  of  teaching  it. 

Apart  from  the  claims  that  the  present  work  has 
to  the  favourable  attention  of  those  responsible  for 
the  direction  of  the  organised  teaching  of  Domestic 
Economy,  the  general  public  may  be  brought  by  the 
perusal  of  this  volume  to  a  larger  knowledge  of  the 
importance  of  this  education  for  their  daughters,  not 
only  from  a  utilitarian  point  of  view,  but  also  as 
valuable  training  in  powers  of  observation,  in  drawing 
out  individual  energies,  and  in  other  essential  mental 
and  moral  qualities. 

MARY   E.    PLAYNE, 

President  of  the  National  Union  for  the  Technical 
Education  of  Women  in  Domestic  Science. 

June  1901 


The  General  Editor  desires  to  acknowledge  his  obligations  to 
JAMES  MEDLAND,  Esq.,  Architect  to  the  Gloucestershire  County 
Council,  to  A.  P.  I.  COTTERELL,  Esq.,  F.S.I.,  and  to  Messrs 
ASHWELL  and  NESBITT  for  contribution  of  various  plans  and 
sections. 


CONTENTS. 
PART  I. 

THEORETICAL, 
i 

BY   MARION    GREENWOOD   BIDDER. 
CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 
Introduction i 

CHAPTER   II. 
Bacteria  and  Housewifery 

CHAPTER   III. 
Air  in  relation  to  Life 21 

CHAPTER   IV. 
Ventilation 37 

CHAPTER  V. 

Water  in  relation  to  Life         ........         45 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Foodstuffs 65 

CHAPTER   VII. 
The  Constituents  of  Food        ....,,,,         86 


viii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAGE 

The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food 126 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Clothing 149 

PART   II. 

THE  PRACTICE  AND    TEACHING   OF  DOMESTIC 
ECONOMY. 

BY   FLORENCE   BADDELEY. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Housewifery :   Hygiene  in  the  House,  Practical  Housekeeping  and 

Laundry  Work 163 

CHAPTER   XL 
Foods 229 

CHAPTER   XII. 
The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy 278 

NOTES  OF  LESSONS 286 

APPENDIX 327 

INDEX 343 


PART    I 

THEORETICAL 
BY   MARION   GREENWOOD  BIDDER. 


NOTE   ON   THERMOMETRIC   SCALES. 


The  use  of  the  Centigrade  Thermometer  is  at  present  so  wide- 
spread that  the  following  equivalent  temperatures  should  be  ready 
in  the  mind  of  students  of  any  science  : 

o°  C.    =  32°  F.  Freezing  point  of  water. 

15°  C.    =   59°  F.  "  Ordinary  temperature." 

36°'9  C.  =  98°'4  F.  Temperature  of  the  healthy  human  body. 

40°  C.    =  104°  F.  Temperature  of  severe  fever. 

50°  C.    =122°  F.  Destructive  to  almost  all  life  except  that 

of  spores. 
70°  C.    =I58°F. 

100°  C.    =212°  F.  Boiling  point  of  water. 


PART    I. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Introduction. 

Domestic  Economy  may  perhaps  be  translated  into 
English  as  " the  ordering  of  a  House  which  is  a  Home"  It  is 
a  wide  subject,  and  its  limits  are  not  very  well  defined.  It 
may  be  urged  with  some  justice  that,  in  the  ordering  of  a 
House  which  is  a  Home,  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  social 
sides  of  life  are  of  high  importance  and  must  be  reckoned  with ; 
and  yet,  Domestic  Economy,  as  generally  understood,  concerns 
itself  with  these  quite  indirectly;  it  deals,  directly,  almost 
wholly  with  the  physical  elements  of  man's  life. 

It  is  in  this  narrower  sense  that  the  words  are  interpreted 
in  the  chapters  of  this  book :  we  speak  of  the  food  which  man 
eats,  of  the  air  he  breathes,  the  water  he  drinks,  the  clothes  he 
wears ;  somewhat  of  the  fabric  in  which  he  dwells.  The  third 
part  of  the  volume  stands  somewhat  apart ;  it  deals  with  the 
Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy,  and  consists  chiefly  of 
Notes  of  Lessons  actually  given  on  the  main  divisions  of  the 
subject.  In  the  second  part  of  the  volume — the  Practical 
Section — stress  is  laid  upon  the  procedure  which  has  been 
found  good  in  these  departments  of  Domestic  Economy;  in 
the  first  part  of  the  volume — the  Theoretical  Section- 
some  attempt  is  made  to  show  that  the  procedure  is  not 
B.  i 


2  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

solely  empiric, — that  there  are  certain  established  facts  of  the 
physical  sciences  with  which  it  is  in  accord.  So  that  while  the 
second  part  will  tell,  as  clearly  as  may  be,  how  the  house  is  to 
be  ordered,  the  first  part  will  endeavour  to  show  why  that 
ordering  is  good. 

Thus : — the  problems  of  Ventilation  centre  round  the 
chemistry  of  air  and  the  physiology  of  breathing,  the  right 
choice  and  preparation  of  Food  are  determined  largely  by  the 
chemical  characters  of  food-stuffs  and  the  facts  of  human 
digestion ;  while  the  habits  and  life-history  of  disease-pro- 
ducing organisms  offer  strong  reason  for  most  stringent  rules 
of  Sanitation  and  personal  cleanliness.  It  is  true  that  the 
aesthetic  instincts  often  guide  the  choice  of  clothing,  and  of 
the  dwelling,  but  they  are  not  unerring  guides,  and  we  wish  to 
show  that,  setting  them  aside,  sound  reasons  may  be  given  for 
this  or  that  practice  in  the  ordering  of  a  House  which  is  a 
Home. 

Now  the  great  central  group  of  facts  which  make  these  rea- 
sons valid  is  that  group  which  belongs  to  the  Physiology  of 
Man  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  all  teachers  of  Domestic 
Economy  should  be  students  of  Physiology,  since  it  is  that 
science  which  studies  and  endeavours  to  explain  the  physical 
phenomena  of  life.  But  no  student  of  physiology  is  properly 
equipped  for  his  study  without  at  least  a  rudimentary  know- 
ledge of  chemistry  and  physics.  For  these  sciences  deal  with 
the  properties  and  behaviour  of  the  substances  which  make  up 
the  material  universe,  and  of  these  substances  living  substance 
is  one,  although  the  most  complex,  the  least  stable,  the  hardest 
to  examine;  and  its  relations  with  other  substances,  and  with 
its  own  constituents,  are  determined  by  physical  laws. 

The  reader  who  wishes  then  to  draw  all  that  can  be  drawn 
from  such  discussion  of  the  problems  of  Domestic  Economy  as 
is  presented  here,  should  come  to  its  consideration  armed  with, 
at  least,  some  slight  knowledge  of  Physiology.  The  equip- 
ment cannot  be  provided  in  this  book,  but  belongs  to  special 


CHAP.  I.]  Tntrodtiction.  3 

treatises  on  that  wide  and  ever-growing  subject.  But  what  we 
may  try  to  do  briefly  in  this  introduction  is  to  lay  stress  on  one 
part  of  physiological  teaching  which  is  often  neglected  in  the 
elementary  text-books — or  rather  by  the  students  of  elementary 
text-books — and  which  is  yet  second  in  importance  to  none, 
whether  for  our  purposes,  or  for  the  pure  study  of  physiology. 
This  is  the  teaching  concerning  the  place  of  the  Nervous 
System  in  man's  life.  Let  us  consider,  a  little,  of  what 
importance  this  is. 

When  we  speak  of  Living  Substance,  we  mean  substance  of 
complex  chemical  constitution  which  is  unlike  all  other  sub- 
stances in  the  chemical  activity  it  displays.  It  is  continually 
breaking  down  and  repairing  its  own  mass,  carrying  on 
processes  which,  for  the  most  part,  can  be  imitated  in  no 
Laboratory.  And  any  portion  of  living  substance  which  has 
a  separate,  individual  existence  we  call  an  Organism.  Thus 
"  organism  "  is  the  most  general  term  for  a  living  creature ;  it 
may  be  a  man,  a  monkey,  or  a  forest-tree ;  it  may  be  almost 
without  permanent  structure,  like  the  simple  Amoeba,  it  may 
be  so  small  that  (like  a  large  bacterium)  several  hundred 
million  would  be  needed  to  fill  an  average  cigarette.  All  these 
organisms  have  living  substance  as  their  foundation,  and  have 
separate  lives;  they  build  up  this  substance  from  food  which  is 
not  living:  they  all  have  living  creatures  as  offspring.  But 
with  this  fundamental  likeness,  organisms  exhibit  also  pro- 
found difference.  We  have  just  said  that  the  Amoeba  is 
almost  without  permanent  structure,  that  is  to  say  that  if  we 
were  to  break  it  up  we  should  find  the  parts  much  alike1:  any 
part  of  its  exterior  shrinks  from  the  disturbance  we  call  a 
stimulus ;  any  part  of  its  interior  can  pour  forth  digestive 
fluid  ;  at  any  point  a  finger-like  process  or  pseudopodium 
can  be  put  out.  But  were  an  organism  like  a  man  to  be 
shaped  by  aggregation  of  amoebae,  with  the  properties  of 
the  simple  amoeba  unmodified,  we  can  hardly  imagine  any 
1  We  may  leave  out  of  account  for  the  moment  the  cell-micleus. 


4  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

gain  in  general  activity,  or  indeed  anything  but  hindrance  as 
a  consequence  of  the  bulky  multiplication.  The  body  of 
man  is  an  aggregation  of  units,  but  not  of  organisms ;  the 
units  are  minute  portions  of  living  matter  which  are  for 
convenience  termed  cells,  and  they  do  not  lead  separate,  in- 
dividual lives,  but  are  bound  together  into  tissues  (muscular, 
nervous,  epithelial),  and  these  are  shaped  into  organs,  such  as 
the  foot,  the  eye,  the  heart.  The  cells  of  any  one  tissue  are 
like  each  other,  and  they  do  the  same  work,  but  they  are 
unlike  the  cells  of  all  other  tissues  and  the  work  they  do  is 
different ; — briefly,  the  body  of  man  shows  physiological  division 
of  labour.  Thus  : — protective  cells  (the  external  epithelia),  cover 
the  surfaces  of  the  body :  it  is  by  the  action  of  muscular  cells 
that  the  body  and  its  parts  are  moved :  the  cells  of  the  ali- 
mentary canal  form  digestive  fluids,  and  pour  them  on  food 
that  has  been  eaten :  the  cells  of  the  kidney  take  from  the 
body  certain  waste  matters  which  are  to  be  cast  away.  And 
as  each  tissue  excels  in  one  department  of  physiological  work, 
there  are  others  in  which  it  is  inactive :  the  epithelial  cells  do 
not  contract ;  the  digestive  cells  do  not  support  (as  do  cartilage 
and  bone) ;  the  kidney  cells  do  not  digest.  Thus  it  becomes 
of  the  first  importance  that  these  tissues  of  varying  activity 
should  have  a  common  bond.  This  bond  exists  and  is  two- 
fold :  it  is  in  the  first  place  the  bond  of  a  common  nutrition 
made  possible  by  the  vascular  system  (heart,  blood-vessels, 
lymph-vessels] ;  and  in  the  second  place  it  is  a  bond  of  govern- 
ment, the  government  of  the  nervous  system.  The  blood, 
charged  with  oxygen  in  the  vessels  of  the  lungs,  enriched  by 
the  products  of  digestion  in  the  capillaries  of  the  intestine, 
freed  from  waste  matters  in  the  vessels  of  the  lungs,  the  skin, 
the  kidneys,  acts  (with  the  lymph)  at  once  as  nurse  and 
scavenger  of  the  tissues;  each  tissue  draws  upon  the  blood 
and  lymph  for  food  materials ;  each  yields  to  the  blood  and 
lymph  its  own  waste. 

The  nervous  system  is,  like  all  other  tissues,  fed  by  the 


CHAP.  I.]  Introduction.  5 

blood  and  drained  by  the  blood,  but  it  may  be  called  the 
master  tissue  of  the  body.  By  its  special  activity  the 
activities  of  all  the  other  tissues  are  controlled ;  there  is  no 
part  of  the  body  into  which  its  ramifications  do  not  spread; 
we  could  not  find  two  regions  which  may  not  be  brought 
into  physiological  relations  by  means  of  these  ramifications. 
For  the  nervous  tissue  of  the  body  is  in  part  peripheral,— 
present  in  every  organ  and  interpenetrating  every  tissue, — 
and  in  part  it  is  central '•  there  is  a  great  central  mass  of 
nervous  matter  to  which  all  the  peripheral  nervous  matter  leads 
or  from  which  it  radiates.  To  unravel  the  complexities  of 
even  one  part  of  this  orderly,  nervous  tangle  may  be  the  work 
of  a  life-time ;  here  we  cannot  even  give  a  brief  description  of 
the  whole.  We  will  leave  aside  all  distinction  of  nerve-cells 
and  nerve-fibres ;  we  will  lay  no  stress  even  on  the  relation- 
ships of  brain,  spinal  bulb  and  spinal  cord.  We  will  only 
remember  these  important  divisions  of  nervous  matter :  first, 
central  nervous-tissue ;  second,  tissue  which  bears  messages 
or  impulses  to  the  centre  and  is  called  afferent ;  and  third, 
tissue  which,  conversely,  bears  impulses  away  from  the  centre, 
and  is  called  efferent.  It  is  the  office  of  the  central  tissue  to 
receive  afferent  impulses,  to  discharge  efferent  impulses,  to 
correlate  the  one  with  the  other,  and  to  check  efferent  impulses 
which  might  give  rise  to  harmful  action.  In  chapter  vn.  and 
chapter  vin.  §§  56,  60,  we  discuss  some  examples  of  the  ordered 
action  which  is  the  result  of  this  ceaseless  activity  of  restraint 
and  excitation,  and  all  the  events  of  healthy  life  furnish  illustra- 
tions. From  the  closure  of  an  eyelid  to  the  hardest  gymnastic 
exercises,  there  is  no  "voluntary"  bodily  movement  which  is 
not  set  up  and  guided  by  nervous  impulse  :  there  cannot  be  an 
important  change  of  posture  which  is  not  accompanied  by 
some  adjustment  of  the  blood-vessels  of  the  body,  some  change 
of  heart-beat,  some  widening  or  narrowing  of  arteries,  and  it  is 
the  nervous  system  which  brings  about  these  changes. 
And  there  is  good  evidence  that  it  is  nervous  impulse  which 


6  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

causes  the  gland-cells  to  build  up  their  own  substance,  and, 
again,  to  pour  out  the  secretions  whereby  digestion  is  effected, 
or  waste  matter  is  cast  out  from  the  body.  On  the  other  hand 
every  sensation — not  only  of  sight,  sound  or  smell,  but  of  heat, 
cold,  touch,  or  pain — is  inseparable  from  nervous  impulse. 
Thus  when  we  gasp  at  the  touch  of  a  cold  shower-bath,  or 
flush  in  the  heat  and  movement  of  a  ball-room ;  when  the 
mouth  "  waters  "  at  the  sight  of  food,  or  some  smell,  or  taste, 
sets  up  nausea  or  vomiting ;  then  it  is  the  central  nervous 
tissue  which,  excited  by  afferent  impulses  reaching  it  from  the 
periphery,  discharges  the  efferent  impulses  which  move  the 
muscles  of  breathing,  which  widen  the  arterioles  of  the  skin, 
which  excite  the  secreting  cells  of  the  salivary  glands,  and 
the  muscles  of  the  abdomen  and  stomach-walls.  And  ac- 
companying these  nervous  actions  (which  are  fairly  easy  to 
observe)  are  others,  more  subtle,  less  obvious,  but  as  important 
to  the  welfare  of  the  body :  among  such  are  the  efferent 
impulses  which  guide  the  nourishment — we  may  say  the  self- 
support — of  the  tissues,  so  that  gland-cells,  muscle-cells,  and 
the  like,  remain  healthy  and  vigorous.  And  among  them  too 
are  those  afferent  impulses  which  stream  from  the  periphery,  to 
register,  in  the  central  nervous  tissue,  all  muscular  contraction. 
This  is  not  the  place,  and  not  the  moment,  to  discuss  these 
subtleties  of  nervous  action,  but  their  existence  should  be 
remembered  in  considering  the  physical  elements  of  the  life  of 
man.  -Man  is  not  to  be  pictured  mainly  as  an  animal  who 
breathes,  who  possesses  certain  digestive  powers,  certain  glands 
capable  of  excreting  waste  matter,  a  system  of  blood-vessels  by 
means  of  which  nourishment  is  gleaned  from  the  stomach, 
while  waste  is  carried  to  the  kidney.  He  is  an  organism  full  of 
delicate  adjustments ;  an  organism  whose  parts  have  con- 
stantly varying  activities  and  needs ;  an  organism  which  must 
meet  changing  strain  and  stress.  The  tissues  cannot  be  "  set " 
at  one  level  of  action ;  the  muscles  must  contract  slightly  or 
strongly  or  must  relax  ;  the  blood-vessels  must  widen  or  narrow 


CHAP.  I.]  Introduction.  7 

here  or  there ;  the  glands  must  pour  out  their  secretions  or 
depress  this  activity  while  others  of  their  activities  are 
heightened.  And  it  is  the  work  of  the  Nervous  System  to 
order  and  control  these  changes, — to  adjust  the  impulses  which 
stream  to  it  from  the  periphery  and  the  impulses  which  it  sends 
out  to  the  periphery  so  that  the  action  of  the  whole  shall  be 
harmonious  and  helpful.  There  are  no  facts  of  man's  life 
which  should  be  rather  borne  in  mind  than  these,  in  the 
ordering  of  a  House  which  is  a  Home. 


CHAPTER    II. 
Bacteria  and  Housewifery. 

§  i.  IT  is  probable  that  during  the  last  twenty  years  no 
plant  or  animal  has  been  so  much  before  the  attention  of  man, 
as  certain  forms  which  are  perhaps  the  simplest,  and  certainly 
the  most  minute  of  all  plants.  These  are  the  Bacteria  ;  and 
we  ought  probably  to  include  with  them,  as  sharing  some  of 
the  notice  they  have  won,  the  yeasts  and  the  moulds •, — much 
larger  indeed  than  the  bacteria  but  still  simple  in  structure. 

In  disease,  in  commerce,  in  domestic  life,  the  power  of 
these  tiny  creatures  becomes  recognized  increasingly  year  by 
year,  and  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  what  they  are,  and  what  they 
do,  is  no  unfitting  introduction  to  the  study  of  some  of  the 
main  problems  of  Domestic  Economy. 

We  are  accustomed  to  divide  the  living  beings  in  the  world 
into  Plants  and  Animals,  and  this  broad  distinction  is  based  on 
differences  which  are  very  striking  when  we  compare  such  an 
animal  as  the  dog  with  such  a  plant  as  the  geranium.  There 
are  differences  of  form,  of  habit-of-life,  differences  in  many  of 
the  substances  which  are  present,  but  above  all,  differences  in 
the  nature  of  food  and  in  the  mode  of  feeding.  But  further, 
plants  and  animals  differ  greatly  among  themselves ;  thus  a 
dog  is  clearly  very  unlike  a  herring;  both  these  differ  widely 
from  a  black-beetle,  this  again  from  a  snail,  and  all  of  these 
from  a  sea  anemone.  And  among  plants  a  geranium  stands 
far  apart  from  a  fern,  and  a  fern  from  the  moss  or  lichen  which 


PT.  I.  CH.  II.]     Bacteria  and  Housewifery.  9 

clothes  a  wall.  Indeed,  as  we  pass  from  the  highest  or  most 
complex  plants  to  those  which  are  very  simple,  we  lose  that 
distinction  into  stem,  leaf,  and  root  which  we  associate  con- 
stantly with  the  field  flowers  and  the  forest  trees.  In  the  same 
way,  examining  a  whole  series  of  animals,  each  simpler  than  the 
last,  we  find  some  which  lack  not  only  the  nerves,  muscles,  and 
backbone  which  we  cannot  separate  from  our  ideas  of  a  dog  or 
a  fish,  but  which  want  also  a  mouth  and  stomach  as  these 
words  are  commonly  understood. 

And  yet  the  simple  creatures  which  stand  at  the  end  of  each 
series  are  truly  plants  and  animals  respectively,  and  truly  unlike 
each  other. 

We  have  said  that  bacteria  must  be  placed  among  the 
plants,  though  among  the  simplest  and  smallest.  Now  the 
most  characteristic  feature  about  the  life  of  green  plants  is  the 
great  power  possessed  by  them  of  building  up  the  substances  of 
which  they  are  composed,  from  comparatively  simple  materials. 
This  power  is  not  possessed  by  animals  which,  being  also  com- 
posed of  highly  complex  substances,  feed  either  upon  plants 
(as  a  sheep  does)  or  upon  other  animals  (as  a  cat  does)  or  have 
such  a  mixed  diet  as  that  of  most  Europeans.  It  is  true  that 
the  food  thus  taken  in  by  animals  needs  important  change 
before  it  actually  nourishes  the  eater,  such  change  as  when  the 
saliva  forms  soluble  sugar  from  insoluble  starch,  as  when  the 
gastric  juice  turns  the  indiffusible  proteids  of  lean  meat  into 
peptone,  as  when  the  secretion  of  the  pancreas  breaks  the  fat 
of  butter  into  tiny  particles  suitable  for  absorption.  Neverthe- 
less, the  lean  meat,  the  starch,  and  the  butter  are  in  themselves 
complex  bodies  and,  unless  bodies  of  this  description  be 
available  for  food,  an  animal  will  starve.  But  green  plants  do 
not  need  proteids,  fats,  or  carbohydrates  as  food1;  in  their 
substances  all  these  bodies  are  present,  but  they  are  built 
up  by  the  plant  out  of  compounds  so  much  less  com- 
plex that  to  animals  they  would  be  useless  as  food. 
1  A  brief  account  of  these  bodies  is  given  below,  §  23. 


io  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

This  great  building-up  power  belongs  to  plants  of  all  kinds 
provided  that  they  hold  the  green  colouring  matter  chlorophyll ; 
it  is  displayed  by  the  oak,  the  geranium,  and  by  the  small  and 
simple  thread-like  or  one-celled  plants  which  sometimes  form 
the  green  scum  on  a  stagnant  pool.  Now  among  animals 
there  are  certain  forms  which  do  not  only  need  complex  food, 
but  need  it  prepared  for  absorption.  They  cannot  digest,  but 
live  a  degraded  life,  inseparable  from  some  other  animal  which 
nourishes  them.  Of  these  we  may  take  the  Tape-worm  as  an 
example ;  they  are  known  as  parasites.  Among  plants  too 
there  are  parasites;  thus  the  Dodder,  whose  twining,  red, 
stems  are  often  seen  on  heaths,  although  it  is  nearly  related 
to  the  Convolvulus  and  to  Jacob's  ladder,  cannot  live  inde- 
pendently. It  has  no  chlorophyll,  and  fastens  itself  upon 
and  feeds  upon  other  plants  which  are  green  and  can  therefore 
build  up  the  substances  which  it  and  they  require.  In  the 
groups  of  simple  plants  (those  in  which  stem,  leaf,  and  root 
cannot  be  distinguished)  those  forms  which  have  not  chloro- 
phyll are  known  as  Fungi,  and  the  bacteria  belong  to  the  group 
of  the  fungi.  Destitute  of  chlorophyll,  they  must  have  complex 
food  to  form  their  own  substance,  and  they  live  either  upon 
other  living  creatures,  or  upon  substance  which  has  been 
living  in  the  recent  past,  or  upon  compounds  which,  although 
simpler  than  those  which  an  animal  needs,  are  much  less  simple 
than  those  which  serve  as  the  food  of  green  plants.  Indeed 
there  is  but  little  living  or  dead1  matter  upon  which  (unless  it 
be  too  acid  or  too  alkaline,  too  hot  or  too  cold)  bacteria  of 
some  sort  will  not  thrive.  What  living  creature,  if  killed,  will 
not  presently  decay  ?  And  decay  or  putrefaction  is  a  popular 
name  for  one  form  of  bacterial  change.  Bacteria  abound  in 
every  human  intestine,  not  preying  upon  the  living  epithelium 
of  its  walls  indeed,  but  feeding  abundantly  upon  the  broken- 
down,  digestive  contents.  Before  the  use  of  antiseptic  dressings 

1  Dead  is  used  here,  not  of  inorganic  bodies,  but  of  substance  which, 
having  lived,  now  lives  no  longer. 


CHAP.  II.]  Bacteria  and  Housewifery.  1 1 

in  surgery  became  usual,  it  was  well  established  that  a  wound 
exposed  to  the  air  became  the  home  and  nursery  of  what  we 
now  know  to  be  bacteria ;  indeed  it  would  probably  be  difficult 
to  find  air,  food,  or  water  (unless  these  have  received  special 
treatment)  in  which  they  are  not  present.  We  may  ask  then 
"What  are  bacteria  like?  what  is  the  importance  of  their 
widespread  presence?" 

§  2.  (a)  In  structure  the  bacteria  are  extremely  simple. 
Each  is  a  tiny  mass  of  living  matter — such  a  mass  as 
Physiology  teaches  us  to  call  a  cell — having  a  protective, 
outside  covering  (or  wall)  of  different  and  less  complex  com- 
position. Some  of  these  individuals  have  no  power  of  inde- 
pendent movement,  but  are  carried  about  passively  by  the 
movement  of  the  surroundings  in  which  they  live ;  others 
move  by  means  of  outgrowths  of  their  substance, — thread-like 
and  exquisitely  fine, — which  have  an  action  roughly  comparable 
to  that  of  the  oars  in  a  boat ;  others  move  by  snake-like 
undulation  of  the  whole  body. 

(b)  In  shape  the  bacteria  are  threads,  rods,  spheres,  dumb- 
bell-shaped, or  comma-shaped :  in  size  they  are  so  small  that  for 
satisfactory  observation  with  the  microscope  they  must  be 
magnified  800  times  or  1000  times  linear.  Some  of  the 
smaller  spheres  or  cocci  as  they  are  called  measure  less  than 
i  micromillimetre  in  diameter^-,  what  is  perhaps  the  largest 

1  A  micromillimetre  is  the  one-thousandth  part  of  a  millimetre;  a 
millimetre  is  '039  inch.  It  is  not  easy  to  give  to  anyone  ignorant  of 
microscopic  work  a  clear  picture  of  the  size  of  bacteria.  Let  us  suppose 
that  we  take  a  small  form  (a  coccus)  and  a  'full-stop'  in  the  text  of  this 
book  and  magnify  them  the  same  number  of  times.  When  we  magnify 
the  coccus  so  that  it  becomes  the  natural  size  of  the  full-stop,  the  full- 
stop,  equally  magnified,  will  appear  a  rounded  patch  of  black,  covering  the 
whole  of  two  open  pages  of  this  book.  Many  bacteria  are  larger  than  the 
cocci,  as  we  have  said,  though  still  very  minute ;  in  life  they  are,  for  the 
most  part,  colourless  and  very  bright  (highly  refractive],  so  that  under  a 


12  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

bacterium  known  is  2\  micromillimetres  wide  and  10  micro- 
millimetres  in  length ;  thus,  although  small  absolutely,  it  would 
hold  100  of  the  tiny  cocci  just  described.  But  the  rarity  of 
this  large  size  is  indicated  by  the  name  Bacillus  megatherium 
which  is  given  to  the  bacterium  in  question. 

Turning  to  our  second  question  "  What  is  the  importance 
of  the  widespread  presence  of  these  minute  creatures?"  we 
may  answer  it  somewhat  as  follows.  The  importance  springs 
(a)  from  the  rapidity  and  success  with  which  bacteria  multiply 
or  reproduce  themselves,  (b)  from  their  mode  of  nourishment 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  substances  formed  by  them  as  they 
grow. 

(a)     The  reproduction  of  bacteria. 

It  is  clear  that  if  we  take  a  living  being  of  many  unlike 
parts, — for  example  a  trout  or  a  chicken — to  split  off  or 
divide  the  whole  individual  or  any  part  of  it  would  not  give 
rise  to  2  new  individuals,  but  would  merely  injure  or  maim.  A 
young  trout  or  a  chicken  is  built  up  gradually  as  the  work  of 
organs  of  the  parent  specially  set  apart  for  that  use,  and  all  the 
complex  parts  of  the  perfect  creature  grow  gradually  from 
simple  beginnings  in  the  egg. 

But  on  the  other  hand  if  we  consider  a  bacterium  such  as 
the  tiny  coccus  mentioned  above,  to  split  the  coccus  completely 
is  to  form  2  cocci,  2  new  individuals.  This  form  of  multiplica- 
tion is  characteristic  of  bacteria  and  at  times  goes  forward  very 
quickly.  Indeed  it  has  been  calculated  that,  taking  for  granted 
favourable  conditions  for  this  division,  one  bacterium,  twice  as 
large  as  a  coccus  (that  is,  the  same  breadth  and  twice  the 

good  microscope  they  are  shining  threads  or  dots.  For  proper  exami- 
nation they  must  not  only  be  highly  magnified,  but  also  stained  with 
different  and  suitable  colours,  to  bring  out  their  characteristic  shape,  to 
distinguish  their  outside  wall  from  its  contents,  and  to  show  the  presence 
or  absence  of  spores  (cp.  below). 


CHAP.  IL]  Bacteria  and  Housewifery.  13 

length),  will  increase  at  such  a  rate  that,  in  two  days'  time, 
2  billions  of  bacteria  have  sprung  from  it — enough  to  fill  a 
\  litre  flask  (nearly  a  pint).  Fortunately  for  man  and  for  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  world,  external  conditions  are  often 
unfavourable ;  different  bacteria  destroy  each  other,  and,  when 
crowded,  they  are  self-destructive,  so  that  this  possible  increase 
is  not  attained.  But  the  actual  increase  is  very  great,  and  this 
form  of  multiplication — by  division  or  fission  as  it  is  techni- 
cally called — brings  enormous  numbers  of  bacteria  rapidly  into 
existence  from  a  single  specimen. 

For  the  second  form  of  multiplication  there  is  special  pre- 
paratory change  in  the  bacterium.  Probably  there  is  change 
in  the  little  mass  which  forms  the  living  part  of  the  individual, 
certainly  there  is  change  in  the  surrounding  envelope  or  wall. 
And  the  change  is  of  such  a  nature  that  the  altered  form  is 
much  more  difficult  to  kill.  Among  bacteria  which  have  not 
undergone  this  special  change  there  is  great  difference  in  the 
ease  with  which  they  can  be  killed.  But  we  know,  on  the 
whole,  that  very  great  cold  and  more  especially  great  heat  do 
injure  them  beyond  repair;  that  drying,  shaking,  the  passage 
of  electric  currents,  light,  and,  above  all,  sunlight  are  hurtful  or 
fatal  to  them.  When  however  they  are  changed  in  the  fashion 
indicated  above  they  can  resist  much  more  successfully  these 
ordinarily  harmful  conditions.  The  changed  bacteria  are 
known  as  spores,  and  it  has  been  shown  that  some  spores , 
dried  for  more  than  three  years,  can  grow  if  moistened  again, 
and  that  a  certain  bacterium  destroyed  by  a  twenty  minutes' 
exposure  to  boiling  water  has  spores  which  are  not  destroyed  at 
the  same  temperature  under  3  hours.  It  is  these  two  characters 
which  give  to  spores  their  special  power  and  danger  when  it  is 
a  question  of  destroying  bacteria :  heating  and  drying,  which 
would  cripple  the  fully  grown  forms,  do  not  destroy  the  life  of 
the  spores.  Added  to  this,  the  spores  although  varying  in  size 
are,  for  the  most  part,  smaller  than  the  bacteria  to  which 
they  respectively  belong,  and,  when  dry,  float  readily, — or  to  be 


14  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

accurate  sink  very  slowly — when  by  any  means  they  are  cast 
into  the  air1. 

It  may  be  asked  "  How  is  the  vitality  or  life  of  spores 
shown?"  It  is  shown  by  changes  which  may  be  (quite  roughly) 
compared  with  the  germination  of  a  seed.  As  a  seed  which 
has  been  apparently  unchanged  through  a  long  period  of 
drought  gives  rise,  when  suitably  moistened,  warmed,  and 
nourished,  to  a  young  plant,  so  the  tiny  spores,  when  suitably 
nourished,  germinate,  and  from  them  arise  bacteria  with  all 
their  great  and  characteristic  power  of  quick  multiplication  by 
fission. 

(ti)  The  nourishment  of  bacteria  and  the  nature  of  the 
substances  formed  by  them  in  growth. 

The  phrase  "when  suitably  nourished"  leads  us  to  dwell 
for  a  time  upon  the  second  reason  given  for  regarding  bacteria 
as  of  high  importance  to  the  life  of  the  world.  And  in  this 
respect  they  are  mighty  for  evil  and  for  good. 

§  3.  The  power  for  good  is  often  overlooked  in  popular 
thought  and  writing,  but  if  we  merely  enumerate  certain  of 
the  processes  which  are  dependent  on  the  activity  of  bacteria, 
we  see  it  clearly. 

In  commerce  the  preparation  of  flax  and  hemp  from  the 
plants  which  produce  them,  the  preparation  of  skins  before 
tanning,  the  preparation  of  tobacco  leaves  before  the  tobacco 
we  know  is  made, — these  and  others  are  processes  in  which 
bacterial  activity  is  all  important.  Different  forms  are  of 
course  concerned  in  the  different  processes,  but  all  bacteria 
have  this  in  common,  that  they  live  upon  liquid  food 
and  that  they  have  most  remarkable,  though  various, 
powers  of  breaking  down  complex  matter  outside 
themselves,  in  which  action  they  obtain  the  nutritive 
liquid  wherewithal  to  thrive  and  divide.  At  the  same 
time  they  bring  about  other  profound  changes. 

1  A  discussion  of  the  conditions  under  which  solid  particles  are  found 
abundantly  in  the  air  is  given  below,  §  10. 


CHAP.  II.]  Bacteria  and  Housewifery.  15 

In  agriculture  we  find  bacteria  active  in  all  successful 
making  of  hay ;  and  we  find  them  enormously  important  in  so 
altering  the  substances  in  soil  that  the  crops  grown  can  be  well 
nourished.  This  activity  is  shown  both  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  gaseous  nitrogen  and  compounds  of  nitrogen  in  the 
soil  and  in  connection  with  cast-off  cellulose.  Cellulose, 
as  we  know,  is  the  non-nitrogenous  substance  of  which  the 
walls  of  plant  cells  are  made  and  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
dissolve :  saliva,  gastric  juice,  and  pancreatic  juice  are  alike 
without  action — they  can  only  pass  through  the  cellulose 
envelope  and  attack  the  nitrogenous,  starchy,  or  fatty,  bodies 
lying  within.  Yet  bacteria  can  dissolve  it  and  even  more 
resistent  wood,  and  all  the  fallen  leaves  and  twigs  which  "  rot " 
upon  the  ground  are  being  changed  by  the  agency  of 
these  minute  creatures  into  substances  which,  being 
set  free  into  the  air  and  the  soil,  are  at  the  service 
of  other  plants  and  of  animals. 

In  domestic  life  we  find  familiar  examples  of  the 
activity  of  bacteria  in  changes  which  go  on  in  milk,  cheese, 
butter.  In  brewing,  and  in  the  formation  of  vinegar,  they  take 
active  part,  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  one  of  the  yeasts 
(we  shall  speak  later  of  these  near  neighbours  of  bacteria)  is  of 
daily  use  in  bread-making.  In  fresh  milk  bacteria  are  always 
present,  but  they  may  be  regarded  as  an  unmixed  evil1.  In 
butter  they  abound,  either  carried  on  from  the  sour  cream, 
or  added  deliberately  after  being  separately  cultivated  :  indeed 
butter  is  said  to  owe  its  delicate  flavour  to  them.  Cheese 
is  always  teeming  with  bacteria,  and  they  have  a  most 
important  share  in  changing  the  insipid  "  curd  "  to  the  highly 
flavoured,  ripe  cheese  which  we  know. 

Such  bacteria  may  be  regarded  as  working  for  good  be- 
cause on  the  one  hand  they  bring  about  important  changes 

1  This  is  the  case  even  when  the  bacteria  present  are  not  disease- 
producing. 


1 6  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

useful  to  man  and  because  on  the  other  hand  they  are  not 
sources  of  disease  when  introduced  into  the  human  body  ; 
they  belong  to  what  are  technically  called  the  non-patho- 
genic bacteria. 

But  the  power  for  evil  of  certain  other  forms  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  These  forms  are  the  pathogenic  (or  disease- 
producing)  bacteria  :  they  are  a  minority  when  the  whole  group 
of  the  Bacteria  is  looked  at  from  the  point  of  view  of  numbers, 
but  when  we  consider  their  effects  it  is  hardly  surprising  that, 
to  the  popular  imagination,  they  have  thrown  into  the  shade 
the  beneficial  action  of  some  non-pathogenic  forms.  As  one 
infectious  disease  after  another  has  been  carefully  investigated 
in  recent  years,  each  has  shown  that  bacteria  are  present  in  the 
blood  and  in  various  organs  of  the  sufferer,  and  that  the 
bacteria  vary  characteristically  with  the  disease.  Diphtheria, 
scarlet  fever,  typhoid  fever,  cholera,  wool-sorter's  disease,  con- 
sumption, tetanus  ("lockjaw"),  leprosy,  small-pox, — these  are 
only  some  of  the  diseases  in  which  bacteria  are  growing 
within  the  living  body,  infesting  its  parts  and,  with  the 
products  of  their  activity,  lessening  its  vitality.  And  the 
issue  of  the  struggle  is  recovery  or  death, — recovery  if  the 
bacteria  and  the  substances  which  they  form  can  be  gradually 
destroyed  by  certain  processes  which  each  healthy  body  has 
at  its  command ; — death  if  these  processes  fail  (and  we  know 
how  often  this  is  the  case),  and  the  vitality  of  the  diseased 
person  is  not  only  lessened  but  destroyed. 

§  4.  Now  the  disease-producing  bacteria  concern  us  here, 
because  it  is  within  the  power  of  a  housekeeper  to  aid  or  check 
their  spread  in  a  house,  or  even  their  admission  to  it.  This  is 
seen  clearly  if  we  name  some  of  the  points  of  danger  in  the 
attack  of  these  small  enemies  and  some  of  the  methods  of 
defence  which  may  be  used. 

A.     How  may  pathogenic  bacteria  enter  or  spread  in  a  house1} 
a.     They  may  enter  with  someone  who  suffers  from  an 


CHAP.  IL]  Bacteria  and  Housewifery.  17 

infectious  disease  or  with  some  article  of  furniture,  dress, 
or  ornament  from  an  infected  house. 

They  may  spread  from  all  excreta  of  the  patient,  from 
clothes  soiled  by  him,  rooms  inhabited  by  him,  utensils  of 
food,  or  books  used  by  him,  especially  in  those  diseases  in 
which  there  is  "peeling"  of  the  skin. 

b.  They   may   enter   with    water   and   spread  with   the 
drinking  of  it.     Water  is  a  fruitful  source  of  bacterial  infection, 
and   pollution  of  the  water-supply  of  some  towns  has  been 
associated  with  grave  epidemics  of  typhoid  fever,  cholera,  &c. 

c.  They  may  enter  with  milk  and  spread  with  its  use. 
Tuberculous  cows  and  goats  are  only  too  familiar  as  sources  of 
diseased  milk  which  may  convey  tuberculosis  (consumption)  to 
a  child  or  to  another  animal,  and  milk,  contaminated  after  it 
has  left  the  cow,  often  carries  typhus  bacteria,  and  has  been 
known  to  carry  those  of  scarlet  fever. 

d.  They  may  enter  with  meat.     Probably  all  meat  which 
has    been    "hung"  contains   bacteria  of  some  kind, — on  its 
surface — or  beneath  the  surface,  if   the  interval  since  death 
has  been   long.     But   there   is    some   meat,    taken   from 
unhealthy   oxen    or    calves,    in  which   a   bacterium    is 
present,  which  has  been  shown  (with  its  products)  to 
give  rise  to  the  marked  and  sometimes  fatal  symptoms 
which  accompany  meat-poisoning   in    man.     "Unsound 
meat "  is  probably  sometimes  used  carelessly  or  culpably  in  the 
making  of  meat  pies,  but  the  pathogenic  bacterium  may  be 
present  without  giving  rise  to  any  suspicious  change  in  the 
smell,   colour  or  texture  of  the  poisoned  meat,  and  then  the 
danger  is  most  insidious. 

e.  They  may  be  introduced  by  domestic  animals.     This  is 
not  a  well-recognized  source  of  infection,  indeed  it  is  perhaps 
too    lightly   regarded.     The    domestic   reticence  of  cats   is  a 
safeguard   in    their   case,   but  a  dog  is  as    ^discriminatingly 
enquiring   abroad    (even    among   refuse)    as    he    is    effusively 

B.  2 


1 8  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

affectionate  at  home.  And  these  habits,  which  probably  do 
make  him  a  carrier  of  higher  animal  parasites,  may  well  aid, 
sometimes,  in  the  transference  of  pathogenic  bacteria. 

B.     We  turn  then   to  ask  what  methods  of  defence  can  be 
opposed  to  these  subtle  attacks  ? 

a.  A  general  answer  is  found  in  naming  some  of  the  con- 
ditions which  are  hurtful  to  the  life  of  bacteria.     Foremost 
among  these  we  must  place  the  substances  known  as  anti- 
septics.     Corrosive  sublimate,    chloride  of  lime,    sulphurous 
acid,  more  lately  boracic  acid,  and  formalin  have  grown  familiar 
terms.     In  different  degrees   they  act  harmfully,  some  when 
present  in  very  minute  amount.     But  it  must  be  remembered 
that,  injuring  bacteria,  they  also  injure  all  living  things,  so  that 
while  their  use  is  wholly  for  good  in  the  sick-room,  they  should 
never  be  used  in  the  kitchen. 

b.  Hardly  less  important  than  the  use  of  antiseptics  is  the 
process  of  sterilization.     To  make  a  fluid,  or  solid,  sterile  is 
to  destroy  all  living  creatures  in   it,  and  this  is  the  great 
safeguard  of  the  kitchen  and  the  nursery.     Raised  to 
a  sufficiently  high  temperature  in  the  dry,  or  wet,  all  food  and 
drink  is  sterile.    Now  a  high  temperature  is  often  hurtful  to  the 
nutritive  matter  in  food,  but  sterilization  may  be  brought  about 
either  by  a  short  stay  at  a  high  temperature,  or  a  longer  stay  at 
a  lower  temperature,  or  by  repeated  treatment  with  moderate 
heat  (say  50°  C).     Boiling  is  of  course  the  rough,  domestic 
form    of  sterilizing,    though   all    forms    of    cooking,    properly 
carried  out,  should  rank  with  boiling.     The  effect  of  cold  (as 
it  can  be  applied  in  the  kitchen)  is  not  to  sterilize.     It  does 
however  check  the  development  of  bacteria  and  is  therefore  of 
great  value. 

c.  A  most  important  aid  to  the  destruction  of  bacteria  is 
found  in  the  daylight,  and  especially  in  bright  sunlight, 
a.nd  it  is  of  great  interest  that  the  pathogenic  bacteria  are,  on 


CHAP.  II.]  Bacteria  and  Housewifery.  19 

the  whole,  most  hurt  by  the  sun.  It  has  been  found  that 
when  many  thousands  of  a  form  of  bacterium  which  is  con- 
stantly present  in  the  human  intestine  are  added  to  water 
(100,000  bacteria  to  i  c.c.  of  water),  no  living  specimens  could 
be  found  after  one  hour's  sunlight,  and  equally  marked  destruc- 
tion of  the  bacteria  which  belong  to  typhus,  to  anthrax,  to 
asiatic  cholera,  has  been  observed.  Thus  it  is  clear  that  the 
policy  of  darkening  dwelling-rooms  is  short-sighted  in  the 
extreme,  and  that  the  evils  of  "fading"  carpets  and  curtains 
are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  evils  of  fostering  the  growth 
of  bacteria  by  shutting  out  the  sunlight. 

d.  Lastly  we  must  note  that  the  human  body,  so  disastrously 
fitted  to  be  a  home  to  pathogenic  bacteria,  may  be  made 
unsuitable  for  this  purpose,  or,  in  technical  words,  immune,  by 
inoculation.  This  immunity,  varying  in  completeness  and 
in  duration,  is  of  course  a  thing  not  of  the  kitchen  but  of  the 
surgery ;  yet  it  cannot  be  unnamed,  for  it  is  a  powerful  weapon 
in  the  war  with  bacteria. 

This  brief  statement  is  substantially  an  answer  to  the 
general  question  which  went  before  it.  Each  point  will  be 
taken  up  in  detail  in  the  following  pages,  as  that  part  of  the 
subject  is  considered  with  which  it  is  closely  connected.  And, 
if  asked  how  briefly  to  arm  a  thoughtful  housekeeper  against 
the  dangers  of  bacterial  action,  we  can  only  say  that,  while  no 
procedure  will  hedge  about  a  household  in  complete  security, 
she  is  well  armed  in  observing, 

1.  in  the  sick-room,  rigid  cleanliness  with  use  of  antiseptics  ; 

2.  ///  the  larder,  cleanliness  with  a  temperature  as  low  as 

may  be  ; 

3.  in  the  kitchen,   intelligent  and  above   all  thorough 

cooking  ; 

4.  throughout  the  dwelling-house,  the  admission  of  sunshine 

and  fresh  air, 

2 — 2 


2O  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

The  extinction  of  non-pathogenic  bacteria  in  the  field  and  in 
commerce  would  be  a  measureless  disaster,  but  in  the  kitchen 
their  use  is  at  an  end,  and  they  may  be  ruthlessly  destroyed, — 
lest,  by  chance,  side  by  side  with  them  there  grow  the 
pathogenic  forms1. 

§  5.  It  may  perhaps  seem  strange  that  in  the  foregoing 
paragraphs  mere  mention  has  been  made  of  the  yeasts  and 
moulds.  Like  bacteria  they  are  simple  plants,  though  differing 
from  bacteria  and  from  each  other  in  minute  points  of  struc- 
ture ;  like  bacteria  they  are  fungi,  and  exist  on  living  or  dead 
substance,  breaking  it  down  and  changing  it  profoundly.  But 
in  the  first  place  with  rare  exceptions  they  are  non-pathogenic, 
in  the  second  place  they,  are  less  insidious  in  attack.  Unsound 
meat,  tuberculous  milk,  poisoned  water  do  not  necessarily 
show  anything  of  their  bacterial  contents,  but  mouldy  eatables 
are  soon  rejected  in  disgust.  Briefly,  we  may  say  that,  aiming 
at  bacteria,  the  housewife  kills  moulds  and  yeasts  as  well. 


1  In  this  brief  account  much  that  is  important  from  a  scientific  aspect, 
has  been  omitted  ;  the  actions  of  bacteria  in  nitrification,  in  fixing  free 
nitrogen,  in  breaking  up  and  using  carbonic  acid  in  the  absence  of 
sunlight ; — these  are  of  the  highest  interest.  It  seemed  well  however  to 
make  a  deliberate  choice  of  such  activities  as  mainly  affect  domestic  life. 
It  may  be  mentioned  with  regard  to  the  familiar  terms  micro-organism  and 
microbe  that  the  latter  is  practically  a  popular  equivalent  for  bacterium, 
while  micro-organisms  include  not  only  bacteria,  but  yeasts  and  moulds, 
and  certain  very  simple  animals,  microscopic  members  of  the  group 
Protozoa.  The  term  micro-organism  is  indeed  one  which  lays  stress  on  the 
likeness  among  these  minute  forms  (since  all  are  living),  rather  than  on 
the  differences  which  make  us  group  some  with  animals,  some  with  plants  ; 
and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  recent  researches  have  proved  that  certain 
diseases  are  due  to  Protozoa,  almost  as  minute  as  bacteria. 


CHAP.  III.]  21 


CHAPTER   III. 
Air  in  relation  to  Life. 


§  6.  WE  may  look  upon  the  atmosphere  as  a  sea  of  air, 
bathing  the  earth.  At  the  bottom  of  this  air-sea  (that  is  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth)  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  is  in 
equilibrium  with  a  column  of  mercury  760  millimetres  high;  it 
is  therefore  under  such  a  pressure  that  the  majority  of  plants 
and  animals  live. 

But  the  air  which  forms  this  sea  is  practically  never  still. 
Rising  when  it  is  warmed,  and  thus  producing  directly  and 
indirectly  currents  of  varying  strength ;  constantly  gaining 
moisture,  and  as  constantly  losing  it ;  made  foul  and  purified 
by  different  actions  of  living  beings,  the  "open  air"  is  like  a 
chemical  laboratory,  the  scene  of  varied  and  profound  chemical 
change.  It  will  be  readily  understood  that  profound  changes 
taking  place  in  any  medium  do  not  necessarily  alter  the  final 
composition  of  that  medium,  provided  that  the  different  changes 
balance  each  other.  And  we  find  that  the  "  open  air,"  unless 
it  is  in  close  contact  with  such  powerful  pollution  as  that 
springing  from  thick-set  chemical  works,  or  from  large  masses 
of  putrefying  substance,  has  a  constant  composition.  Taking 
account  of  water  in  the  gaseous  state  (which  is  always  present 


22  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

though  in  varying  amount)  we  may  accept  the  following  analysis 
of  air  as  typical : 

"Nitrogen" 78*35  parts 

Oxygen 2077  parts 

Moisture  (water) 0*85  parts 

Carbonic  acid  gas 0*03  parts 

Air loo'oo  parts. 

It  must  be  remembered  here  that  the  "Nitrogen"  does  not 
now  represent  one  indivisible  substance — one  element.  But 
argon  or  the  other  inert  gases  which  have  lately  been  described 
in  air  do  not,  so  far  as  we  know  at  present,  touch  the  relation 
of  air  to  life. 

§  7.  We  know  from  the  teachings  of  Physiology  that  it  is 
as  a  source  of  oxygen  that  air  is  all  important  to  plants  and 
animals,  and  it  is  in  connection  with  this  use  that  we  must 
now  consider  it  further. 

There  are  however  three  points  that  may  first  be  noticed. 

(a)  Firstly,  certain  living  creatures,  members  of  that  group 
of  the  fungi  which  we  know  as  bacteria1,  can  exist  and  reproduce 
themselves  in  nutrient  liquids  which  contain  no  oxygen.  Some 
of  these  forms  are  indifferent  to  the  presence  of  oxygen  and  can 
thrive  in  its  presence  or  absence,  but  to  others  the  gas  acts  as  a 
poison,  they  can  only  live  in  its  absence.  Bacteria,  important 
as  the  work  of  recent  years  has  shown  them  to  be,  alike  from 
a  commercial  and  a  medical  point  of  view,  form  only  one  sub- 
division of  that  great  vegetable  group  the  fungi,  and  the  fungi 
again  form  but  a  small  part  of  the  physical  life  of  the  world. 
Nevertheless  in  considering  the  relation  of  the  air  to  life,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  certain  living  creatures  are  entirely 
independent  of  it. 

(b}  In  the  second  place  another  group  of  bacteria  have  very 
remarkable  relations  with  the  nitrogen  of  the  air.  We  know 

1  See  above,  chapter  n. 


CHAP.  III.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  23 

that  the  element  nitrogen  is  a  necessary  part  of  all  proteids  and 
that  proteids  are  a  necessary  part  of  all  living  substance ;  but 
we  also  know  (§  i  )  that  animals  draw  their  nitrogen  from  the 
proteids  of  other  animals  or  of  plants,  and  that  plants  build 
them  up  from  simple  materials,  such  as  nitrates  found  in  the 
soil.  But  the  group  of  bacteria  of  which  we  are  now  speaking, 
and  they  alone,  can  use  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air  and  make  it 
enter  into  chemical  combination.  They  live  in  or  upon  the 
roots  of  certain  plants — members  of  the  order  to  which  the  pea, 
the  lupin,  the  clover  belong,  and  these  plants  are  fed  with  the 
nitrogen  "fixed"  by  the  bacteria.  These  facts  are  of  great 
practical  importance  to  farmers,  for  crops  thus  fed  by  bacteria 
are  much  less  dependent  upon  nitrogenous  manuring 
than  are  oats,  wheat,  or  potatoes,  and  may  even  leave 
the  soil  richer  in  this  respect;  they  are  also  of  the  greatest 
scientific  interest,  since  the  behaviour  of  these  bacteria  to 
the  inert  nitrogen  of  the  air  is  so  unlike  that  of  all  other  living 
things. 

(c)  In  the  third  place  the  atmosphere  must  be  regarded  as 
a  source  of  carbonic  acid  to  all  living  creatures  which  hold 
chlorophyll — that  is,  all  green  plants  and  a  few  green  animals. 
Carbonic  acid  is  a  gas  which  is  difficult  to  decompose,  yet 
in  the  presence  of  sunlight,  protoplasm  holding  chlorophyll  can 
decompose  it,  and  all  the  carbon  that  is  found  in  living 
substance  (and  it  is  a  very  wide-spread  element— found  in 
proteids,  in  fatty  matters  and  in  starchy  matters)  has  once  been 
present  in  the  air  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  From 
this  form  it  is  taken  by  green  plants  and  worked  up  to  complex 
substances,  and  these  substances  become  part  of  animals  who 
live  upon  vegetable  food,  and  thus,  part  of  animals  who  are 
carnivorous. 

§  8.  It  is  however  in  relation  to  the  act  of  breathing  that 
we  wish  to  consider  the  air  in  detail,  and  looked  at  from  this 
point  of  view  it  becomes  a  great  storehouse  whence  oxygen  is 


24  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

drawn  and  into  which  carbonic  acid  is  poured.  When  air  is  cut 
off  from  an  animal,  then,  as  is  well  known,  the  animal  dies. 
And  short  of  this  extreme  state  of  things,  changes  in  the  sur- 
rounding air  have  most  important  effects  on  breathing. 

I.     The  pressure  of  the  air  which  is  breathed  may 
be  changed. 

Sometimes  this  special  medical  treatment  is  applied  locally 
in  the  case  of  certain  diseases  of  the  chest;  the  patient  is 
made  to  breathe  air  that  is  especially  compressed,  or  especially 
rarefied.  But  with  these  cases  we  have  no  concern  here ; 
changes  of  pressure  in  the  air  during  health  are  changes  to 
which  not  only  the  lungs  but  the  whole  body  is  exposed. 

Thus  the  pressure  may  be  increased  as  it  is  in  the  closed 
chambers  in  which  the  builders  of  great  bridges  work.  In  the 
chambers  or  "caissons"  which  were  formed  in  the  building  of 
the  Forth  Bridge,  air  was  supplied  at  a  pressure  more  than  three 
times  as  great  as  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere. 

On  the  other  hand  the  pressure  may  be  decreased.  As  we 
rise  above  the  surface  of  the  earth  the  air  is  increasingly 
rarefied  or  "thin,"  and  high  in  the  Alps  or  Himalayas,  or  in 
high  balloon-ascents,  the  difference  of  pressure  may  be  very 
great. 

Now  great  changes  in  either  direction  may  be  brought 
about  slowly  with  no  ill  effect.  The  workmen  who  build  a 
bridge  are  placed  in  an  "air  lock"  where  the  pressure  is 
increased  gradually,  and  they  can  then  not  only  exist  but 
work  in  the  condensed  air  of  the  caisson.  In  the  same  way, 
passing  through  the  air  lock,  they  can  come  back  to  the  earth 
unhurt.  And  men  live  and  work  in  high  Himalayan  villages 
as  easily  as  in  London.  But  when  the  changes  are  extreme  or 
sudden,  injury,  even  death  may  follow ;  with  increased  pressure, 
slow  and  deep  breathing,  pain  in  the  head,  sometimes  breakage 
of  the  drum  of  the  ear  :  with  decreased  pressure,  irritation  of  the 


CHAP,  in.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  25 

skin,  disturbance  both  of  movement  and  feeling,  sometimes  un- 
consciousness and  death.  These  are  probably  symptomsofan 
upset  in  the  balance  between  the  blood  and  the  gases 
which  it  holds  at  the  normal  atmospheric  pressure; 
this  upset,  carried  everywhere  because  the  blood  in  which  it 
takes  place  travels  everywhere,  injures  the  delicate,  nervous 
tissue  which  is  so  wide-spread,  and  thus  brings  about  wide- 
spread injury  which  may  be  even  fatal. 

II.     The  air  breathed  may  be  more  or  less  loaded  with 
moisture  or  may  be  exceptionally  cold  or  warm. 

In  the  case  of  healthy  persons  changes  of  this  nature,  unless 
they  are  extreme,  do  not  touch  the  breathing  directly.  They 
have  of  course  very  important  action  upon  the  skin  with  its 
blood  vessels  and  sweat  glands,  and  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  more  difficult  to  bear 
without  injury  if  the  air  be  loaded  with  moisture  than  if  it  be 
dry.  We  know  that,  be  the  surroundings  hot  or  cold,  the 
temperature  of  a  healthy  warm-blooded  animal  hardly  varies ; 
when  however  it  is  raised  above  the  normal  by  some  extreme 
external  change  or  by  disease,  then  the  breathing  is  much 
more  rapid.  And  what  is  unusual  in  man  is  usual  in  the  dog ; 
the  panting  or  quick  breathing  of  a  heated  dog  is  familiar  to 
everyone — it  probably  brings  about  great  loss  of  heat  by 
evaporation  from  the  windpipe,  nose,  and  mouth,  and  thus  is 
an  aid  in  cooling  the  animal. 

III.  The  composition  of  the  air  breathed  may  be  changed,  not 
by  the  introduction  of  any  new  element  or  constituent,  but 
by  change  in  the  gases  usually  present,  nitrogen,  oxygen, 
carbonic  acid. 

We  may  put  aside  the  question  of  change  in  nitrogen. 
This  does  not  occur  under  ordinary  or  even  under  unusual 


26  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

conditions  of  life,  at  least  not  in  any  degree  which  affects 
breathing.  Nitrogen,  indeed,  is  only  important  in  respiration  if 
it  interferes  with  the  proper  inspiration  of  oxygen. 

In  like  manner  we  may  put  aside  the  question  of  increase 
in  the  oxygen  present.  It  may  be  increased  considerably 
without  distinct  effect  on  breathing,  and  we  do  not  meet  with 
this  increase  under  natural  conditions. 

But  there  are  two  possible  changes  which  are  all  impor- 
tant in  their  effect  on  breathing — decrease  in  the 
amount  of  oxygen  in  the  air  and  increase  in  the  amount 
of  carbonic  acid.  In  careful  experiments  these  two  changes 
may  be  separated  from  each  other,  and  each  is  found  to  be 
injurious  and,  if  carried  far  enough,  fatal ;  that  is,  a  man  may 
be  killed  by  sufficiently  reducing  the  oxygen  in  the  air  he 
breathes,  and  in  a  somewhat  different  way,  by  greatly  increasing 
the  carbonic  acid  present. 

But  practically  the  two  changes  come  before  us  together, 
for  the  consumption  of  oxygen  by  all  living  creatures  forms  one 
side  of  the  shield,  while  the  other  is  the  giving  off  of  carbonic 
acid.  The  oxygen  may  be  reduced  considerably  from  the 
amount  present  in  fresh  air  (20  vols.  p.c.)  without  marked 
injury  to  breathing;  it  is  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid 
present  which  is  usually  taken  as  the  index  of  harmful 
change,  partly  because  of  its  special  ill  effects,  but  (probably) 
even  more  because,  under  the  conditions  in  which  it  is  usually 
abundant,  other  subtle  and  injurious  changes  in  the  air  have 
been  brought  about.  Of  these  we  shall  speak  later. 

The  free  air  is,  as  we  have  said  above,  remarkably 
uniform  in  its  composition,  indeed,  taking  Dr  Angus  Smith's 
figures,  we  may  notice  that  there  is  hardly  more  carbonic 
acid  in  the  street  air  of  a  crowded  city  than  on  a  mountain 
top. 


CHAP.  III.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  27 

Percentage  of  carbonic  acid  in  Air. 

From  the  streets  of  London  (mean)...  '0343  p.c.  or  3^43 

parts  in  10,000. 

From  the  top  of  Ben  Nevis,       ,,      ...  '0327  p.c.  or  3*27 

parts  in  10,000. 

This  uniformity  is,  of  course,  due  not  only  to  the  fact  that 
activities  of  opposite  character,  tending  to  balance  each  other, 
go  on  in  the  air,  but  that  owing  to  such  agencies  as  rain  and 
winds  the  air  is  in  free  movement1.  Pure  air  is  indeed  at- 
tainable for  all  living  creatures  whose  life  is  an  out-of-doors  life. 
But  for  the  most  part  human  life  is  in-doors,  in  limited  spaces 
of  air  cut  off  more  or  less  completely  from  the  atmosphere. 
These  are  constantly  fouled  by  carbonic  acid  arising  from 
every  human  being  or  other  animal  inhabiting  them,  from  every 
burning  candle,  gas-jet  or  lamp.  Plants  also  give  off  carbonic 
acid,  but  not  in  great  amount,  and  in  the  sunlight  they  are 
sources  of  oxygen.  Domestic  animals  are  by  no  means  neg- 
ligible, but  are  important  consumers  of  oxygen  and  producers 
of  carbonic  acid, — thus,  in  proportion  to  weight,  a  dog  gives 
rise  to  two  or  three  times  as  much  carbonic  acid  as  a  man. 
But  except  in  buildings  specially  devoted  to  them  the  numbers 
of  domestic  animals  are  small ;  the  chief  sources  of  impurity 

1  The  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  varies  somewhat  in  different  towns, 
and  it  is,  as  might  be  expected,  higher  in  foggy  air.  In  considering  those 
balancing  activities  which  keep  the  composition  of  air  constant  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  as  regards  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  present, 
there  is  a  tendency  to  place  too  high  the  combined  influence  of  plant  life 
in  the  sunshine  (consumption  of  carbonic  acid)  and  animal  life  (evolution 
of  carbonic  acid).  There  is  good  evidence  that  this  influence  sinks  into 
insignificance  compared  with  chemical  reactions  in  which  life  is  not  directly 
concerned.  Carbonic  acid  is  still  emitted  from  the  earth  in  enormous 
quantities  by  volcanoes  and  springs,  and  it  is  only  kept  from  loading  the 
air  by  constant  chemical  combination.  Thus,  instead  of  existing  freely  as 
a  gas,  it  forms  part  of  substances  which  dissolve  in  fresh  water  or  in  the 
sea  (such  as  carbonate  of  lime)  and  in  the  long-run  help  to  form  the  solid 
substance  of  the  earth.  But  as  regards  the  renewal  of  oxygen  in  the 
atmosphere,  green  plants  are  all-important. 


28  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

which  we  have  to  consider  are  found  in   man  and   in  the 
different  forms  of  burning. 

§  9.  A  man,  when  he  is  breathing  quietly,  sends  out  at 
every  breath  about  500  cc.  (say  30  cubic  inches)  of  air  loaded 
with  carbonic  acid  to  the  extent  of  4  p.c. ;  a  man  working 
actively  gives  off  much  more.  Now  the  air  of  a  room  should 
ideally  contain  the  same  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  as  does 
the  fresh  air,  namely  3*5  parts  in  10,000.  It  is  found  that  air 
containing  more  than  this  may,  however,  be  breathed  without 
injury  or  discomfort ;  but  when  the  increase  due  to  breathing  is 
more  than  2  parts  in  10,000,  that  is  to  say  when  the  whole 
carbonic  acid  present  exceeds  5  or  at  most  6  parts  in  10,000 
(2  of  those  parts  springing  from  respiratory  action)  then  the 
air  becomes  unwholesome. 

We  have  taken  30  cubic  inches  as  a  measure  of  the  amount 
of  air  taken  in  and  sent  out  at  each  breath,  but  we  know  that 
this  amount  varies  greatly  even  in  healthy  breathing.  In  the 
same  way,  the  number  of  breaths  taken  in  each  minute,  shows 
great  variations  from  time  to  time,  even  in  men  of  the  same  age. 
But  we  may  take  15  as  representing  a  fair  average  in  quiet 
breathing,  remembering  however  that  departure  is  frequent 
both  from  this  number  and  from  30  cubic  inches  as  the 
volume  of  "tidal"  air.  Now  if  15  breaths  be  taken  in  each 
minute,  900  will  be  taken  in  the  course  of  the  hour,  and  during 
this  time  27,000  cubic  inches  or  15^  cubic  feet  of  air  will  be 
fouled  with  the  products  of  breathing,  carbonic  acid  being 
present  to  the  extent  of  4  p.c.  But  respiratory  carbonic  acid 
(as  we  have  seen)  must  not  exceed  2  parts  in  10,000  if  the  air 
is  to  be  wholesome,  that  is  to  say  the  15!  cubic  feet  of  expired 
air  must  be  diluted  200  times.  This  will  give  about  3000  cubic 
feet  of  fresh  air  as  the  quantity  with  which  a  man  should  be 
supplied  hourly  under  the  given  conditions,  and  about  this 
quantity  is  contained  in  a  room  17  feet  square  and  loft.  6  in. 
high.  It  is  clear  that  to  drive  3000  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air 


CHAP,  in.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  29 

across  one  end  of  such  a  room,  hourly,  would  not  give  the 
necessary  supply  to  a  man  stationed  at  the  other  end ;  on  the 
other  hand  it  is  clear  that,  could  the  products  of  breathing  be 
removed  as  they  are  formed,  wholesome  air  would  be  main- 
tained with  intimate  admixture  of  considerably  less  than  3000 
cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  in  the  hour. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  necessities  of  a  man  who 
may  be  taken  as  an  average  man,  resting,  or  at  least  not 
doing  hard  labour.  It  should  be  remembered  that  women  and 
children  need  slightly  less  than  this  amount,  while,  for  a  man 
working  hard,  the  hourly  supply  of  fresh  air  should  probably  be 
doubled. 

§  10.  When  we  consider  not  only  indoor  life,  but  life  in 
artificial  light  new  sources  of  impurity  affect  the  air.  Candles, 
lamps,  and  gaslights,  are  all  consumers  of  oxygen,  and  the 
amount  of  carbonic  acid  they  produce  is  large.  It  varies  of 
course  with  the  wax,  paraffin,  or  gas  respectively  used ;  but  it 
is  probably  not  overstating  the  truth  to  say,  that  an  ordinary 
oil  lamp  produces  3  times  as  much,  and  a  batswing  gas 
burner  between  3  and  4  times  as  much  carbonic  acid 
in  the  course  of  an  hour  as  does  a  man.  Carbonic  acid 
and  water  are  the  only  important  additions  made  by  lamps  and 
candles  to  the  air  in  which  they  burn ;  the  fouling  of  air  due 
to  gas,  on  the  other  hand,  is  partly  due  to  products  to  which,  in 
addition  to  carbonic  acid,  its  burning  gives  rise.  Looked  at 
from  this  point  of  view,  gas  must  be  regarded  as  the  least 
wholesome  of  illuminants,  when  it  is  burnt  without  precaution 
in  inhabited  buildings.  And  although  the  carbonic  acid  pro- 
duced by  any  ordinary  illuminant  is  (volume  for  volume)  less 
harmful  than  that  produced  by  breathing, — not  of  course 
because  of  difference  in  the  carbonic  acid  but  because  of  ac- 
companying changes — yet  the  action  of  all  forms  of  artificial 
light,  except  the  electric  light,  must  be  reckoned  with  seriously 
in  considering  the  healthful  housing  of  man. 


30  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 


IV.  The  composition  of  the  air  may  be  changed  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  gases  not  usually  present  which  have  important 
effects  on  its  relation  to  life. 

(a)  Carbon  monoxide  (also  known  as  carbonic  oxide,  and  to 
be  distinguished  carefully  from  carbon  dioxide  or  carbonic  acid}. 
This  gas  is  found  in  the  fumes  from  brick-kilns  or  lime-kilns, 
in  the  gases  which  come  from  blast  furnaces,  and  from  stoves 
in  which  coke  or  charcoal  is  burnt.  It  is  also  found  at  times 
in  the  air  of  coal-mines,  and  is  present  in  coal  gas.  Indeed  it 
forms  about  ~%  of  coal  gas  as  we  ordinarily  burn  it ;  an  escape 
of  gas  would  thus  set  free  a  comparatively  large 
amount  of  carbon  monoxide  into  the  air.  Now  it  has 
been  said  more  than  once  that  the  main  value  of  air  to  living 
creatures  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  source  of  oxygen, 
and  we  know  that  the  substance  which  carries  oxygen  from 
the  air  throughout  the  body  is,  in  man  and  in  all  the  higher 
animals,  haemoglobin — the  colouring  matter  of  the  red  corpuscles 
of  the  blood.  Only  by  means  of  this  haemoglobin  united  with 
oxygen  (and  then  known  as  oxy haemoglobin]  can  the  body  gain 
the  element  which  is  so  essential  to  its  well-being ;  and  the 
most  dangerous  form  of  starvation  is  oxygen-starvation. 
Carbon  monoxide  is  poisonous  because  it  brings 
about  oxygen  starvation.  Like  oxygen  it  unites  or  com- 
bines with  the  red  colouring  matter  of  the  blood,  but  more 
firmly  than  does  oxygen.  Thus  if  a  solution  of  haemoglobin 
be  exposed  to  air  holding  both  oxygen  and  carbon  monoxide, 
the  union  with  the  latter  takes  place  more  readily  and  more 
firmly  than  that  with  the  former,  carbonic  oxide  haemoglobin  is 
carried  by  the  circulating  blood  instead  of  oxyhaemoglobi?i,  and 
the  body  dies  for  lack  of  oxygen.  It  dies  indeed  as  if  oxygen 
were  absent ;  air  loaded  with  carbon  monoxide  is  of  no  more 
service  for  breathing  than  if  it  contained  no  oxygen  at  all. 

It  is  probable  that  no  year  passes  without  the  occurrence  of 


CHAP,  in.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  31 

deaths  from  carbon  monoxide  poisoning,  but  as  domestic  life  is 
arranged  at  present  in  England  (with  its  attendant  fires  and 
lighting)  the  danger  is  faced  rather  by  men  engaged  in  special 
work  than  by  the  dwellers  in  houses. 

(ft)  Sulphuretted  hydrogen.  This  is  the  ill-smelling  gas 
which  is  given  off  from  rotting  eggs,  and  from  the  putrefactive 
breaking  up  of  other  nitrogenous  substances  :  it  is  present  for 
example  in  sewer  gas.  It  is  also  found  in,  or  readily  formed 
from  the  waste  of  certain  chemical  works.  Sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen is  a  powerful  poison,  but  cannot  be  regarded  as  an  in- 
sidious poison,  for  even  in  traces  it  is  detected  by  its  repulsive 
smell.  When  present  in  the  air  in  sufficiently  great  quantity, 
its  poisoning  action  has  some  resemblance  to  that  of  carbon 
monoxide.  It  combines  readily  and  firmly  with  oxygen,  and 
can  prevent  the  red  colouring  matter  of  the  blood  from  com- 
bining with  the  oxygen  which  properly  belongs  to  it.  Thus, 
as  in  the  case  we  have  just  considered,  the  body  dies  from 
oxygen-starvation.  Sulphuretted  hydrogen  does  not  itself 
unite  with  any  part  of  the  blood  but  is  simply  dissolved, 
probably  in  the  blood  plasma,  and  thus  it  differs  from  carbon 
monoxide.  The  oxy haemoglobin,  deprived  of  its  oxygen,  is  left 
uncombined  with  any  gas ;  it  becomes  then  the  body  which 
we  know  as  reduced  haemoglobin ;  and  which,  in  health,  is 
characteristic  of  venous  rather  than  of  arterial  blood. 

(c]  Nitrous  oxide.  This  is  not  a  common  impurity  in 
air  but  is  well-known  as  an  anaesthetic  in  dentistry.  Its 
physiological  action  forms  an  interesting  contrast  to  those  just 
considered  for  it  does  not  in  any  way  hinder  the  union  of 
haemoglobin  with  oxygen.  But,  dissolved  in  the  blood  during 
its  passage  through  the  lungs,  it  is  carried  to  all  the  capillaries 
of  the  body,  bathing  all  the  tissues  and,  among  others,  the 
central  nervous  system.  And  in  small  quantities  the  gas 
wakes  up  or  stimulates  certain  of  those  cells  of  the  nervous 
system  so  that  the  uncontrollable  movements  which  have  given 


32  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  I. 

to  it  the  name  of  laughing  gas  are  excited  :  in  larger  quantities 
it  deadens  the  nervous  tissue  for  a  time,  and  thus,  insensitive- 
ness  (anaesthesia)  is  produced. 


V.      The  composition  of  the  air  breathed  may  change  according 
to  the  nature  and  amount  of  solid  matter  present. 

Other  gaseous  impurities  are  present  in  air  in  certain 
places  and  under  special  conditions,  but  those  just  named  are 
of  the  highest  general  importance.  But  in  studying  the  air  in 
relation  to  life  we  have  to  deal  with  matter  which  like  them  is 
no  integral  part  of  the  air,  but  which,  unlike  them,  is  solid 
matter. 

The  air,  as  we  know,  has  mass  and  weight ;  and  offers  great  resistance, 
e.g.  to  the  rapid  movement  through  it  of  an  open  umbrella.  This 
resistance  is  not  seen  clearly  when  some  rather  large  mass  of  heavy 
material  such  as  a  stone  or  a  sovereign  is  thrown  or  falls  to  the  ground. 
But  whereas  a  stone  can  be  thrown  with  the  hand  fifty  yards,  a  handful  of 
sand  of  the  same  weight  (and  sand  is  only  stone  broken  small)  cannot  be 
sent  more  than  a  few  feet.  And  when  a  sovereign  is  beaten  out  into  gold 
leaf  it  is  carried  on  the  lightest  breath  of  air,  although  gold  is  almost  the 
heaviest  substance  known.  This  is  because  the  total  surface  of  the  sard- 
fragments  and  of  the  gold  leaf  is  enormously  greater  than  that  of  the  stone 
and  of  the  sovereign  respectively,  and  the  air  resists  their  passage  much 
more.  And  it  comes  to  pass  that  substance  which  is  hundreds  of  times 
heavier  than  the  air  may,  if  it  is  in  sufficiently  fine  particles,  fall  through  the 
air  so  slowly  as  practically  to  float  in  it.  Such  particles  are  the  dust  of 
the  air ;  and  we  may  say  that  atmospheric  dust  is  present  abundantly  for  a 
height  of  one  mile,  or  in  places  for  many  miles,  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  In  the  higher  (and  rarefied)  layers  of  air  these  particles  are  ex- 
quisitely fine;  near  the  surface  of  the  earth  they  are  coarser, — particles 
such  as  we  see  when  a  sunbeam  falls  into  a  darkened  room.  This  dust  of 
the  air  is  always  shifting,  falling  however  slowly  on  the  land  and  the  sea 
and  being  constantly  renewed,  so  that  the  dust  of  to-day  is  not  the  dust  of  a 
week  ago.  And  the  change  of  place  of  dust  particles  may  be  most 
striking:  volcanic  dust  from  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius  has  fallen  to  the  earth 
at  Constantinople,  and  after  the  great  eruption  of  the  volcano  Krakatoa  it 
was  calculated  that  the  fine  dust,  thrown  many  miles  into  the  air,  must 
have  travelled  more  than  once  round  the  globe  before  it  fell. 


CHAP,  in.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  33 

§  ii.  Now  in  domestic  life  we  have  to  deal  with  dust 
which,  as  compared  with  that  in  the  air  of  a  mountain-top,  is 
greatly  increased  in  amount  and  is  of  more  varied  nature. 
But  the  particles  which  make  it  up  fall  into  two  great  groups, 
separated  by  a  distinction  which,  if  it  is  rough,  is  convenient. 
There  is  in  the  first  place  organic  solid  matter  in  the  air,  and 
this  may  be  popularly  described  as  matter  which  is  or  has 
recently  been  part  of  living  beings :  in  the  second  place  there 
is  inorganic  solid  matter,  matter  which  has  not  immediate  or 
recent  connection  with  living  beings,  and  is  often  popularly 
called  mineral. 

Inorganic  particles  in  dust.  Organic  bodies,  of  which  we 
have  just  given  a  rough  definition,  are,  to  the  chemist,  com- 
pounds in  which  the  element  carbon  is  present ;  for  in  every- 
thing that  lives  or  has  lived  there  is  carbon — for  example,  in 
skin,  in  wool,  in  silk,  in  paper,  in  cork.  But  carbon,  existing 
alone,  is  more  properly  included  among  the  inorganic  solid 
matters  of  the  air,  and  it  is  probably  the  commonest  impurity 
with  which  men  come  in  contact.  For  soot — condensed  and 
aggregated  smoke — is  carbon,  and,  at  least  in  a  country  so 
smoky  and  so  densely  populated  as  is  England,  there  can  be 
few  who  do  not  daily  breathe  air  in  which  soot  is  present. 
Some  of  the  particles  thus  breathed  are  stopped  in  the  com- 
plicated and  twisted  passages  of  the  nose,  some  are  stopped  in 
the  windpipe  and  bronchial  tubes  and  cast  out  with  the 
discharges  (secretions)  of  these  passages.  But  enough  carbon, 
very  finely  divided,  reaches  the  lung-tissue  proper,  to  deepen 
its  tint  from  the  pinkish  colour  of  the  baby's  lung  to  dirty  or 
even  blackish  red  in  grown  men,  and  this  change  is  of  course 
especially  striking  in  the  dwellers  in  cities. 

Considered  from  a  mechanical  point  of  view,  the  presence 
of  much  foreign  matter  in  the  lungs  is  disadvantageous,  but 
carbon  is  probably  the  least  harmful  solid  substance  taken  in 
in  breathing,  for  it  is  not  a  poison  nor  an  acute  irritant.  But 

B.  3 


34  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

sometimes  positive  injury  to  the  delicate  lung  tissue  follows  the 
breathing  of  fine  mineral  dust  which  fills  the  air  when  certain 
trades  are  carried  on.  Stonemasons  and  miners, — for  example 
those  who  work  in  the  gold  mines  with  "dry  bore" — suffer 
greatly  from  this  sort  of  irritation,  and  the  short  lives  of  the 
"dry  grinders"  of  Sheffield  were  notorious  some  years  ago. 
Even  with  the  improved  arrangements  for  work,  and  the 
careful  legislation  of  recent  years,  injury  may  be  still  great, 
and  one  well-known  form  of  diseased  lung  is  known  as  stone- 
mason's lung. 

Organic  particles  in  dust.  These  are  sometimes  actually 
living  substance,  and  sometimes  they  may  be  called  the  debris 
of  living  beings ;  they  form  the  greater  part  and  certainly  the 
most  dangerous  part  of  domestic  dust.  Almost  all  friction  of 
solids  (unless  these  are  bathed  with  liquid)  sets  free  into  the  air 
minute  fragments  which  have  been  attached  to,  or  have  formed 
part  of  one  or  both  of  the  solids  thus  rubbed.  For  example 
the  thin  surface-scales  of  skin  (epidermal  cells)  are  shed  daily  by 
all  animals  possessing  them ;  tiny  fragments  of  dried  excreta,  of 
hair,  cotton,  fur,  and  feathers  are  very  widespread,  and  in  the 
carrying-on  of  certain  different  trades  the  two  last  named  are 
present  in  dangerous  amount.  The  dust-like  pollen  of  flowers 
is,  at  times,  a  noticeable  element  in  dust,  especially  such 
comparatively  light  pollen  as  forms  what  has  been  called  the 
"  smoke  "  of  the  yews  and  pine  trees,  (the  so-called  showers  of 
sulphur]  or  the  odorous  dust  of  the  hay-field.  And  other 
products  of  simpler  plant-life  abound.  We  know  that  all  jam, 
damp  bread,  jelly,  and  many  other  eatables  mould  if  exposed 
to  the  air,  especially  in  summer.  The  moulds  which  are  so 
familiar  as  blue-green  or  white,  dusty  patches,  are  really  simple 
plants,  visible  to  the  naked  eye  only  when  they  are  gathered 
into  masses.  The  spores  of  these  plants  (see  above  §  2) 
are  in  all  air,  and  when  suitable  material  for  their  growth  is 
exposed  to  the  air,  they  grow,  and  give  rise  to  moulds.  Very 


CHAP,  in.]  Air  in  relation  to  Life.  35 

nearly  related  to  these  are  the  particles  popularly  known  as 
disease  germs,  which  we  have  recognised  as  exceedingly  simple 
plants,  members  of  the  group  of  Bacteria  and  properly  known 
as  pathogenic  bacteria^.  We  have  said  that  bacteria  of  many 
different  kinds  may  be  present  in  the  air  (either  as  spores  or 
as  bacteria  themselves)  and  this  especially  when  they  are  dry. 
This  being  so,  they  are  taken  in  with  the  breath,  the  harmless 
and  the  harmful  alike.  Now  there  is  perhaps  no  sheet  of 
living  matter  more  delicate  than  those  membranous  cells,  which 
are  all  that  separate  the  air  in  the  lungs  from  the  blood  that 
courses  through  the  lung-capillaries.  Moreover  the  extent  of 
this  delicate  tissue  is  great ;  it  has  been  estimated  that  the 
surface  of  the  human  lungs  spread  flat  would  cover  an  area  of 
90  square  metres ;  in  other  words,  the  lining  cells  would  form 
a  sac  or  bag  able  to  line  completely  the  floor,  the  ceiling  and 
the  walls  of  a  room  14  feet  square  by  10  feet  high.  Delicate 
as  these  cells  are,  when  they  are  whole  and  sound,  even 
disease-producing  bacteria  may  be  inhaled  without  necessarily 
producing  disease.  But  some  weakness  which  has  existed 
from  birth,  or  some  local  injury  due  to  cold,  or  the  irritant 
effect  of  some  inorganic  particles  breathed,  or  constant  ex- 
posure to  impure  air,  may  produce  spots  of  injury  where  the 
"  germs  "  can  find  a  home  and  food-material,  and  whence  they 
enter  the  general  circulation ;  just  as  an  open  wound  will  always 
form  good  growing-ground  for  the  bacteria  of  the  air  if  it  be 
exposed  to  them.  We  have  seen  above  (§  n)  that  consump- 
tion may  follow  the  breathing  of  poisonous  dust,  and  it  was  a 
common  sequel  to  the  work  of  dry  grinding  in  past  years, — not 
because  steel  dust  could  in  itself  give  rise  to  consumption, 
but  because,  irritating  the  lungs,  it  weakened  them,  and  made 
them  especially  susceptible  to  the  bacterium  proper  to  that 
disease. 

The  well-known  wool-sorter's  disease,  again,  is  directly  as- 
sociated with  poisonous  dust :  as  the  Alpaca  wool  is  "  sorted," 

1  Cp.  above  §  3. 

3—2 


36  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

anthrax  and  its  spores  (which  have  been  lurking  in  the  fleece) 
are  shaken  into  the  air.  But  anthrax  is  the  special  bacterium 
which  gives  rise  alike  to  the  wool-sorter's  disease  and  the 
splenic  fever  of  cattle,  and  its  constant  presence  in  the  air, 
breathed  during  each  working  day,  enables  it  to  get  a  hold  on 
at  least  the  majority  of  the  men  long  occupied  in  the  sorting- 
room,  with  disastrous,  often  fatal  results. 


CHAP.  IV.]  37 


CHAPTER    IV 
Ventilation. 

§  12.  THE  foregoing  considerations  touching  the  ordinary 
constituents  and  the  accidental  and  changing  impurities  of  air 
are  far  from  complete,  but  they  may  put  us  in  a  position  to 
understand  the  problems  with  which  we  have  to  deal,  in 
ventilation. 

We  are  concerned  with  the  maintenance  of  fairly  healthy 
life  under  difficult  conditions. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  the  life  of  men  in  limited  spaces  of 
air,  and  men  are  at  once  taking  from  the  air  the  element 
which  is  all  important  to  life  and  pouring  out  into  it  an 
actively  injurious  gas. 

In  the  second  place  it  is  largely  life  in  artificial  light  (at 
least  in  the  case  of  most  town-dwellers) ;  and  almost  all  sources 
of  artificial  light  have  a  vitiating  action  on  the  air,  comparable 
with  that  due  to  man. 

But  in  the  third  place  it  is  the  life  of  persons  dressed  in 
clothes  which  are  for  the  most  part  imperfectly  clean.  We  know 
that  glands  of  two  kinds  are  constantly  passing  their  secretions 
on  to  the  surface  of  the  human  body, — the  sweat  glands  and 
the  sebaceous  glands,  the  latter  opening  at  the  bases  of  the 


38  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

hairs.  The  sweat  carries  water,  common  salt,  some  com- 
plicated fatty  (often  odoriferous)  compounds  and  some  urea, 
which  last  we  know  as  an  important  nitrogenous  waste  matter ; 
the  sebaceous  secretion  is  mainly  the  changed  and  broken- 
down  cells  of  the  little  glands  which  yield  it,  and  is  rich  in 
fatty  matters  with  some  admixture  of  nitrogenous  substance. 
Now  the  amount  of  these  secretions  varies  greatly  (there  may 
be  from  2  litres  to  20  litres  in  the  course  of  24  hours)  but 
they  are  constantly  formed ;  of  sensible  perspiration  we  are 
conscious  when  the  temperature  round  us  is  high,  especially  in 
moist  air,  or  the  exertion  is  great, — but  insensible  perspiration 
is  present  at  all  other  times.  What  is  its  fate?  There  is  of 
course  loss  by  evaporation,  loss  of  water  and  of  some  of  the 
more  volatile  constituents  of  the  secretions,  but  a  residuum 
must  always  be  deposited  upon  the  skin,  or  must  soak  into  the 
clothes.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  skin  is  cleansed  completely 
by  bathing  twice  in  the  day ;  the  clothes  worn  near  it  will  in 
one  day  not  be  seriously  polluted,  and  their  exact  condition 
will  depend  largely  on  the  substance  of  which  they  are  made. 
Thus  the  most  pervious  clothing  naturally  allows  the  most  free 
escape  of  the  water  of  the  skin  secretions  and  accompanying 
volatile  matters,  while  relatively  impervious  clothing  (such  as 
linen  and  cotten)  causes  the  deposition  of  liquid  sweat  which 
soaks  the  garments  in  contact  with  it1.  The  list  of  impervious 
clothing  is  headed  by  such  articles  as  are  "waterproof";  most 
persons  are  familiar  with  the  discomforts  of  exertion  taken 
while  macintosh  is  worn,  and  the  sensible  discomfort  is  only 
the  expression  of  hindrance  to  that  free  escape  of  matter 
which,  in  an  unclothed  man,  would  attend  the  vigorous  action 
of  a  flushed  skin.  However  carefully  bathing  is  carried  out, 
however  carefully  the  materials  of  clothing  be  chosen,  still  it  is 
evident  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  some  complex 
organic  matter, — very  susceptible  to  putrefaction  and  other 

1  See  below,  §  63. 


CHAP.  IV.]  Ventilation.  39 

chemical  changes — must  impregnate  the  garments  worn  near 
the  skin.  And  when  we  remember  that  even  daily  bathing 
is  not  customary  among  the  bulk  of  the  inhabitants 
of  England,  that  clothing  is  often  carelessly  chosen 
and  impervious,  that  some  articles  of  dress  which  are  worn 
for  weeks  or  months  may  be  in  daily  contact  with  the  skin 
(this  is  the  case  with  some  dress  bodices  of  women)  we  realize 
vividly  the  power  of  clothes  for  evil. 

Fourthly,  we  are  considering  the  life  of  men  in  furnished 
dwellings.  Here  we  have. a  source  of  impurity  which  is  closely 
related  to  that  last  named.  We  know  how  the  moisture  given 
off  from  human  beings  condenses  into  drops  on  the  wall  of  a 
crowded  room.  Something  like  this  condensation  is  always 
going  on  in  inhabited  dwellings,  on  walls,  ceiling,  and  furniture; 
furniture  is,  moreover,  constantly  touched  by  hands  which  may 
be  unclean,  but  which,  if  they  are  clean,  always  bear  the 
natural  (and  healthy)  grease  of  the  skin.  We  are  familiar  with 
the  "close"  smell  and  oppressiveness  of  the  air  in  a  heavily 
furnished  room  which  has  been  shut  up  for  some  time  without 
occupation ;  it  is  probably  the  traces  of  human  life  in  the  past 
now  undergoing  putrefactive  or  other  chemical  changes  which 
give  rise  to  unwholesome  and  offensive  products.  It  has  long 
been  taught  that  air  vitiated  by  breathing  is  especially  poisonous 
because  it  bears  from  the  lungs  organic  matter  apt  to  putrefy. 
But  the  latest  observations  and  experiments  on  this  point  give 
ground  for  believing  that  it  is  not  from  the  breath  itself  but 
from  want  of  cleanliness  in  the  body  or  in  the  room  inhabited, 
that  these  odorous  and  harmful  substances  spring. 

Lastly,  we  deal  in  many  cases  with  the  life  of  unhealthy 
men.  Much  sickness,  especially  infectious  sickness,  is  of  course 
gathered  into  the  special  dwellings  which  are  arranged  for  its 
careful  treatment.  But  in  schools,  in  public  meetings,  in 
carelessly  ordered  homes,  and  in  the  crowded  homes  of  the 


4O  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  I. 

very  poor,  there  must  be  sometimes  conscious,  sometimes 
unknowing,  admixture  of  the  breath  and  other  waste  matters  of 
the  unhealthy  with  those  of  the  strong.  Few  things  can  be 
more  dangerous  than  the  sputum  of  a  consumptive  patient  left 
to  dry  upon  the  floor  and  then  rubbed  to  a  light  dust  by 
passing  feet,  and  there  is  upon  record,  actual  death  of  an 
apparently  healthy  person  from  this  source  of  infection. 

§  13.  Consideration  of  the  actual  methods  of  ventila- 
tion by  which  the  difficulties  named  above  are  dealt  with, 
belongs  clearly  to  the  practical  side  of  domestic  economy ;  there 
are  however  certain  aims  which  must  be  before  the  practical 
worker  even  if  they  are  not  entirely  capable  of  realization.  In 
noticing  these  we  may  fitly  speak  at  once  of  the  gaseous 
impurities  of  air,  and  of  dust,  for  as  we  have  seen,  even  the 
free,  country  air  is  not  dustless,  while  the  dust  of  dwellings 
helps  to  form  a  serious  problem  in  domestic  life. 

We  may  say  truly,  though  with  apparent  contradiction,  th°.t 
the  treatment  of  impurities  of  all  sorts  in  the  air  should  be 
preventive  and  curative. 

As  preventive  treatment  we  may  group  the  following : — 

(a)  The  fitting  of  interiors^  and  the  choice  of  furniture.  A 
room  abounding  in  cornices  or  mouldings  with  flat  upper 
surfaces  (especially  in  places  which  are  difficult  of  access)  is 
clearly  fitted  to  gather  dust.  This  is  recognized  so  far  that,  in 
some  new  hospitals,  the  flooring  joins  the  walls  at  a  curve 
from  which  dust  can  easily  be  cleaned,  and  the  more  frequent 
replacement  of  a  right  angle  by  a  curve,  or  of  flat  surfaces  by 
sloping  or  bevelled  surfaces  would  be  a  distinct  sanitary  gain. 
The  dangers  of  upholstered  furniture  are  familiar;  where  the 
inhabitants  of  a  dwelling  are  leisured  and  few  in  number 
careful  treatment  may  practically  abolish  these  dangers,  but 
when  great  numbers  of  ill-cared-for  human  beings  are  gathered 


CHAP.  IV.]  Ventilation.  41 

together  there  should  be  no    furniture  which   cannot  be 
subjected  to  severe  and  effectual  cleansing. 

(b)  The  choice  of  means  of  lighting  and  heating  is  of  high 
importance  where  such  choice  can  be  made.     It  will  be  readily 
gathered  from  the  foregoing  pages  that  all  illuminants,  all  fires, 
all  stoves,  are  not  alike,  in  detail,  in   their  effect  upon  the 
air, — that  they  vary  in  heating  action,  in  drying  action,  in  their 
use  of  oxygen,  and  in  the  giving  out  of  different  injurious 
gases ;   it  is  clear  that  by  the  use  or  rejection  of  certain  of 
these  lighting  and  warming  agents  the  fouling  of  the  air  may 
be  hastened  or  checked. 

(c)  The  use  of  sunlight  in  rooms  can  hardly  be  too  much 
advocated  as  a  check  of  putrefactive  change.     We  have  seen 
(§  4  c)  what  a  remarkably  destructive  effect  the  sunlight  exerts 
on  the  great  majority  of  bacteria,  and  it  is  probable  that  no 
room,  bathed  in  sunlight,  would  ever  show  vigorous  bacterial 
growth  on  its  walls,  on  its  furniture,  or  in  its  air.     Dove  non  va 
il  sole,  va  il  medico  (Where  the  sunlight  does  not  enter,  the 
doctor  comes)  is  an  old  Italian  proverb  which  recent  researches 
only  confirm,  and  no  one  who  is  intelligently  concerned  for 
domestic  purity  will  shut  out  the  sun. 

(d)  It   is   perhaps  departing  slightly  from  the  point,   to 
touch  on  the  relation  of  sickness  to  these  preventive  measures  : 
yet  the  necessity  of  isolating  invalids  who  suffer  from 
infectious  disease  and  of  the  careful  destruction  of 
all  their  excreta  can  hardly  be  too  often  pressed  home. 
And,  as  the  lack  of  care  in  these  matters,  may  readily  give 
disease-producing  bacteria  as  an  element  of  household  dust, 
the  matter  really  touches  that  we  have  in  hand. 

§  14.  By  the  neglect  of  these  preventive  measures  how- 
ever, or  in  spite  of  them,  the  fouling  of  air  is  an  undeniable 
fact, — indeed  the  commonly  accepted  meaning  of  ventilation 


42  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

is  that  it  is  a  process  which  removes,  rather  than  prevents, 
impurity.  And  successful  curative  ventilation  is  such  that 
certain  ends  are  reached  or  approached.  The  chief  of  these 
ends  may  be  stated  as  follows  : 

(a)  The  fresh  air  supplied  is  mixed  intimately  with  the 
existing  air  of  the  room.     We  have  pointed  out  (§  9)  that  to 
drive  great  volumes  of  fresh  air  across  one  end  of  a  room  is 
not  efficient  ventilation,  and  unless   free   circulation   or  very 
thorough  mixture  in  some  form  is  assured,  parts  of  the  air 
of  a  room  into  which  even  a  breeze  is  blowing  may  remain 
astonishingly  foul. 

(b)  The  fresh  air  is  admitted  without  the  formation  of  a 
"cold draught"     It  would  of  course  be  possible  to  bring  about 
complete  change  of  air  by  means  of  cold  draughts  properly 
arranged,  but  so  many  other  disastrous  results  follow  that  such 
a  scheme  cannot  be  called  successful.     In  the  open  air  there 
is  probably  nothing  which  can  be  called  a  draught ;  in  closed 
rooms,  especially  when   the  temperature  is  high,  currents  of 
cold  air  are  especially  felt  by  the  human  skin,  and  produce 
sudden  discharge  from  eyes  and  nose  closely  resembling  that 
of  hay-fever,  or  the  more  lasting  effects  of  cold  or  chill. 

(c)  The  entrance    of  fresh   air   is   accompanied    by    the 
removal  of  the  products  of  breathing  and  burning.     This  is  a 
great  economy ;  it  is  the  fouling  rather  than  the  exhaustion  of 
air  with  which  we  have  to  do  in  breathing  or  in  burning ;  if 
the  impurities  remain,  a  much  larger  volume  of  fresh  air  must 
be  admitted  to  bring  about  proper  dilution  of  them  than  if 
they  are  carried  off  wholly  or  in  part.     And  this  removal  is  of 
special   importance  when   diseased   persons   are   present, — as 
they  may  well  be  in  schoolrooms  or  crowded  halls. 

§  15.  As  in  the  case  of  preventive  ventilation,  so  in  the 
case  of  curative  ventilation,  the  dust  of  dwellings  must  be 
reckoned  with.  All  vigorous  rubbing  of  dusty  fittings  and 


CHAP.  IV.]  Ventilation.  43 

furniture  adds  new  impurity  to  the  air,  and  the  gentle  removal 
of  dust  by  wiping  can  hardly  be  urged  too  strongly.  Damp 
cloths,  which  hardly  give  the  highest  polish  to  furniture,  are 
most  valuable  for  this  gentle  removal,  and  in  sweeping  floors 
the  value  of  damp  particles,  such  as  sawdust,  tea-leaves,  or  (in 
America)  finely  torn  paper,  is  generally  recognized.  It  would 
hardly  be  going  too  far  to  say  that  no  furniture  should  be 
polished  which  is  not  first  nearly  dust-free.  The  aim 
of  dusting  of  course  is  permanently  to  remove  dust  from  the 
room  where  it  is  found ;  thus  the  frames  of  beds,  and  hollow 
heads  to  beds,  bookcases,  or  wardrobes — if  such  be  necessary 
— should  be  covered  with  some  non-absorbent  covering  which 
may  be  removed  at  intervals  and  carried  completely  away  with 
the  dust  which  has  settled  upon  it. 

§  16.  In  leaving  this  subject, — the  relation  to  life  of  the 
air  which  is  at  once  so  important  in  purity  and  so  easily  made 
impure, — it  is  perhaps  worth  while  to  urge  what  great  power 
(in  the  matter  of  personal  health)  lies  in  the  hands  of  each 
individual.  The  more  vigorous  is  the  life, — that  is  the  sum  of 
all  the  chemical  changes — in  a  living  body,  the  more  fitted  is 
that  body  to  withstand  the  ill  effects  of  harmful  surroundings. 
It  has  been  said  that  there  is  a  "margin  of  resistance  to  injury," 
and  this  is  widest  in  health  and  is  narrowed  in  the  weakly. 
One  great  promoter  of  vigorous  life  is,  of  course,  the  vigorous 
action  of  the  skin,  and  this  is  aided  by  careful  cleansing  and  by 
frequent  change  of  healthy  clothing.  But  there  is  another 
activity — that  of  breathing — which  is  often  grossly  neglected. 
Many  persons  hardly  ever  take  deep  breaths  from  the  chest ; 
the  possible  lung  capacity  for  each  individual  is  hardly 
ever  used  to  the  full.  This  is  a  form  of  oxygen  starvation, 
perhaps  not  directly  suicidal,  but  enough  to  injure  one  of  the 
main  sources  of  life ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  habit  of 
taking  deep  breaths,  especially  in  the  fresh  air,  would  give  in- 
creased mechanical  strength  to  the  lungs  and  increased  vigour 


44  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

to  their  delicate,  lining  cells.  If,  in  addition  to  this,  the  habit 
of  breathing  through  the  nose  become  fixed,  an  additional  safe- 
guard is  provided.  The  cold  air  is  warmed  and  further 
moistened  before  it  actually  reaches  the  lungs,  and,  the 
complex  nasal  passages  act  as  ground  where  dust  particles, 
dead  or  living,  are  checked.  And  this  checking  is  of  the 
greatest  importance,  as  mucin  and  the  remnants  of  cells  are 
constantly  being  sent  to  the  exterior,  and  with  them  may  be 
carried  that  foreign  matter  which,  did  it  reach  the  actual 
substance  of  the  lung,  would  irritate  or  poison. 


CHAP.  V.]  45 


CHAPTER   V. 

Water  in  relation  to  Life. 

§  17.  WE  are  here  concerned  with  water  considered  in 
relation  to  life.  And  in  this  relationship  we  have  to  deal 
with  it  as  a  drink,  as  a  means  of  bathing  and  cleansing  the 
person,  and  as  a  means  of  cleansing  clothes,  household  fur- 
niture, dwellings  and  the  surroundings  of  man.  As  a  constituent 
of  the  air  we  have  already  named  it  (§  8),  and  as  a  constituent 
of  food  we  shall  deal  with  it  in  succeeding  chapters.  But  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  presence  of  water  in  food  has 
much  to  do  with  its  use  as  a  drink :  if  a  rabbit  be  fed  on 
lettuce  or  cabbage  it  need  drink  no  water  (in  100  parts  by 
weight  of  lettuce,  96  are  water),  but  water  should  be  supplied 
with  its  dry  food.  In  the  same  way  we  are  conscious  that  the 
need  for  drinking  arises  much  more  strongly  when  we  eat  a 
sponge-cake  than  when  we  eat  milk  porridge ;  in  the  one  case 
water  is  a  large  constituent  of  the  article  of  diet,  in  the  other  it 
is  taken  as  an  adjunct.  Whether  water  be  used  much  or  little, 
however,  its  quality  is  of  high  importance ;  and  though  this 
is  true  especially  of  water  used  as  a  drink,  it  is  true  in  a  less 
degree  of  that  used  for  cleansing  purposes,  although  different 
characteristics  are  harmful  or  advantageous  to  the  different  uses. 

§  18.  To  say  that  the  quality  of  water  is  of  high  im- 
portance is  to  say,  by  implication,  that  what  is  chemically 
one  substance  has  important  varieties.  And  this  is  true : 


46  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

chemically  pure  water  is  never  found  in  nature.  It  may  be 
prepared  by  distillation,  and,  since  the  water  of  the  air  has 
arisen  by  evaporation,  which  is  the  first  stage  of  distillation, 
we  might  perhaps  expect  it  to  be  pure  and  constant  in  quality. 
But  when  this  atmospheric  water  reaches  the  earth  once  more, 
as  dew,  or  rain,  it  is  pure  no  longer.  We  have  seen  (§  6) 
that  the  air  is  a  mixture  of  gases,  and  that  immense  numbers 
of  fine  particles,  forming  atmospheric  dust,  are  suspended  in 
it ;  now  water  has  very  great  solvent  power,  and  this  solvent 
power  is  shown,  both  as  it  passes  through  the  air,  and,  later, 
as  it  passes  through  the  earth.  It  dissolves  the  atmospheric 
gases  with  certain  other  matters  (varying  with  the  region  of 
the  air  concerned),  and,  further,  it  carries  down  in  suspension 
some  particles  which  are  not  dissolved,  such  as  the  carbon 
particles  which  may  be  seen  in  the  rain-water  collected  in  a 
smoky  town.  Thus  rain,  although  probably  the  purest  natural 
water  (especially  when  it  is  gathered  in  the  country,  and  at 
the  end  of  a  long  wet  period),  has  many  and  varied  impurities ; 
and  dew1,  which  must  rank  with  the  purer  forms  of  rain,  can 
hardly  have  more  than  a  romantic  use  for  drinking  and  for 
washing.  The  questions  that  are  before  us  then  are  the 
following :  ivhat  is  the  nature  of  the  impurities  in  water  ? 
what  is  their  importance?  how  far  may  they  be  disregarded 
in  the  use  of  water  for  what  are  commonly  called  domestic 
purposes  ? 

A.    The  characters  of  the  impurities  in  tiatural  waters. 

§  19.  In  the  first  place,  gases  are  present ;  we  have  said 
above  that  this  is  true  even  of  rain-water,  and  we  may  add, 
further,  that  it  is  true  of  the  waters  of  the  sea,  of  springs,  lakes 
and  rivers,  and  wells.  It  is  of  course  from  oxygen  dissolved  in 

1  In  the  dew-ponds,  which  are  of  such  interest  and  have  been  lately 
investigated,  we  find  large  quantities  of  dew-water,  but  these  ponds  are  too 
rare  to  be  dwelt  upon  here. 


CHAP.  V.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  47 

water  that  the  plants  and  animals  which  are  "  water  breathers  " 
draw  the  oxygen  necessary  for  their  healthy  life.  All  water 
exposed  to  the  air  dissolves  not  only  oxygen,  but  those  gases 
which  are  normally  present  in  the  atmosphere,  and  others 
which  are  present  frequently  or  rarely.  Nitrogen  (with  argon) 
is  the  least  soluble  of  the  ordinary  constituents  of  air ;  oxygen 
is  twice,  and  carbonic  acid  about  seventy  times  as  soluble. 
Consequently,  when  water  takes  up  gases  from  the  air  the 
proportions  in  which  they  exist  are  changed,  and 
"dissolved  air"  has  not  the  composition  of  the  air 
of  the  atmosphere.  We  have  seen  in  §  6  that  100  volumes 
of  atmospheric  air  contain 

"  Nitrogen,"  78*35  volumes, 

Oxygen,  2077  volumes, 

Carbonic  acid,        "03  volumes. 

If  air  of  this  composition  be  in  contact  with  100  volumes 
of  water  at  ordinary  temperature  and  pressure,  the  water  will 
dissolve 

"Nitrogen,"'  n6  volumes, 

Oxygen,  '62  volumes, 

Carbonic  acid,        '03  volumes1, 

so  that  in  the  atmospheric  air  there  is  i  part  of  carbonic  acid 
to  700  of  oxygen  and  2600  of  " nitrogen, "  while  the  "dissolved 
air "  in  the  water  consists  of  i  part  of  carbonic  acid  to  about 
20  of  oxygen  and  40  of  "  nitrogen." 

1  This  calculation  is  from  tables  for  15°  C.  Except  in  the  case  of 
hydrogen,  the  amount  of  gas  absorbed  increases  as  the  temperature  becomes 
lower,  and  at  freezing  point  100  volumes  of  water  will  absorb  from  the 
air  at  atmospheric  pressure 

"Nitrogen,"  1*59     volumes, 

Oxygen,  '854  volumes, 

Carbonic  acid,         '054  volumes, 

making  a  total  of  i\  volumes.  This  is  the  amount  of  gases  commonly 
dissolved  in  100  volumes  of  rain-water. 


48  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

At  higher  temperatures,  less  of  these  gases  is  taken  up;  and 
by  boiling  the  water  they  are  completely  expelled. 

Sulphurous  acid  is  nearly  3000  times  as  soluble  as  nitrogen, 
hydrochloric  acid  more  than  30,000  times,  and  ammonia  more 
than  50,000  times  as  soluble.  Thus,  the  air  is  purified  from 
these  gases  by  the  rain,  which,  in  some  manufacturing  districts, 
may  become  even  poisonous  to  vegetation  because  of  what 
it  has  dissolved.  These  highly  soluble  gases  are  not  driven 
off  from  water  by  boiling. 

When  water  is  exposed  to  a  mixture  of  gases,  such  as  air, 
the  quantity  of  any  one  gas  taken  up  by  the  water  is  pro- 
portional to  the  quantity  of  that  gas  in  contact  with  the 
surface  of  the  water ;  or,  more  exactly,  with  a  square  inch  of 
surface.  We  have  seen  above  that,  under  ordinary  conditions, 
i  oo  volumes  of  water  will  dissolve  from  the  air  '03  volumes 
of  carbonic  acid ;  if  the  air  contain  twice  its  usual  percentage 
of  carbonic  acid,  the  water  will  dissolve  *c6  volumes,  and  if 
pure  carbonic  acid  replace  the  air  (at  the  same  pressure),  the 
water  will  dissolve  10'3000  times  as  much,  that  is,  it  will  take 
up  its  own  bulk  of  carbonic  acid1.  Now  the  quantity  of  gas 
in  contact  with  the  water  can  be  still  further  increased  by 
increasing  its  pressure;  when  the  pressure  of  air  (or  any 
other  gas)  is  doubled,  every  cubic  foot  contains  twice  as  much 
air  (or  gas)  as  it  did  before.  Hence,  water  exposed  to  carbonic 
acid  at  a  pressure  of  2  atmospheres  will  take  up  twice  its  own 
bulk  of  the  gas,  or — to  put  the  same  fact  in  other  words — 
nearly  7000  times  the  amount  that  water  can  take  up  from 
ordinary  atmospheric  air.  This  property  is  used  by  the  manu- 
facturers of  aerated  waters :  they  pump  carbonic  acid  gas 
at  several  atmospheres'  pressure  into  iron  tubes  containing 
water,  and  the  water,  taking  up  many  times  its  own  volume 
of  the  gas,  is  bottled  in  this  condition.  When  the  bottles 

1  We  have  seen  (§  6)  that  in  10,000  parts  of  fresh  air  there  are  3  parts 
of  carbonic  acid. 


CHAP.  V.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  49 

are  opened  the  gas  escapes,  at  first  violently,  then  more  gently, 
until  the  quantity  of  gas  contained  in  the  water  is  equivalent 
to  that  which  it  would  take  up  from  the  air  around  it.  A 
similar  "loading"  or  "charging"  with  gas  characterizes  some 
natural  waters,  such  as  those  of  Seltzer  or  of  Spa.  In  their 
underground  wanderings  they  encounter  carbonic  acid  gas 
(formed  by  some  of  the  chemical  actions  which  are  always 
going  on  in  the  earth's  interior),  and  at  high  pressures.  They 
absorb  it,  and  so  become  converted  into  the  effervescing 
waters  that  we  know. 

In  the  second  place,  substances  in  solution  (other 
than  gases)  are  present.  These  are  substances  dissolved  by 
water  as  it  passes  through  the  air  (rain,  dew,  fog),  or  as,  later, 
it  passes  through  the  earth  (streams,  lakes,  rivers,  wells,  and 
the  sea),  and  they  may  be  conveniently  distinguished  as  inor- 
ganic and  organic  (compare  above,  §  n). 

Of  the  inorganic  substances  in  solution  perhaps  the 
most  important  are  the  salts  of  calcium,  that  is,  lime.  These  are 
found  in  all  water  which  has  fallen  upon  or  trickled  through 
limestone  rocks  (calcium  carbonate)  or  rocks  in  which  sulphate 
of  lime  is  present,  and  are  found  all  the  more  abundantly 
because  the  water  contains  carbonic  acid :  in  pure  water,  they 
are  but  slightly  soluble,  but  when  carbonic  acid  is  present, 
they  dissolve  with  ease.  Calcareous  waters  are  termed  hard 
waters,  a  term  which  has  come  to  denote  their  behaviour  with 
soaps.  Soaps,  when  they  are  mixed  with  pure  water,  form  a 
lather, — the  peculiar  filmy  froth  with  which  everyone  is  familiar. 
But  soaps  are  alkaline  salts  of  fatty  acids,  and  they  form 
insoluble  salts  by  chemical  action  with  the  salts  of 
hard  waters:  curdy  precipitates  fall — precipitates  of  these 
insoluble  salts, — and  not  until  the  chemical  action  which 
they  indicate  is  at  an  end,  can  the  "lather"  be  found. 
Thus  some  soap  is  wasted,  so  far  as  the  purposes  for  which 
soap  is  used  are  concerned.  It  is  clear  that  rain  waters  can 

B.  4 


5<D  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

never  be  hard;  much  of  the  spring  water  of  England  and 
some  well  water  is  very  hard,  and  river  water  is,  as  a  rule, 
intermediate,  holding  less  chalky  matter  than  many  springs. 

We  have  spoken  of  these  calcareous  salts  as  the  most  im- 
portant soluble,  inorganic  constituent  of  waters,  both  because 
of  their  widespread  distribution,  and  because,  as  we  shall  see, 
they  are  especially  important  from  a  domestic  point  of  view. 
Other  salts  are  richly  present  in  some  waters,  mainly  in  the 
water  of  springs  :  among  these  are  sulphate  of  magnesia^  found 
in  the  saline  springs  of  Epsom ;  sodium  carbonate  in  the  waters 
of  Vichy  and  Malvern ;  carbonate  of  iron  in  the  chalybeate 
wells  of  Tunbridge.  The  boiling  springs  of  Iceland  which 
are  familiar  as  geysers  have  a  good  deal  of  silica  dissolved  in 
their  waters, — that  is,  of  the  substance  of  which  rock  crystal 
and  flint  are  composed, — and  the  brine  waters  of  Droitwich 
are  rich  in  sodium  chloride^  bromide,  and  iodide.  All  these 
however  are  medicinal  and  commercial,  rather  than  domestic. 
But  there  are  yet  two  inorganic  salts  which  must  be  named, 
because  both  are  due  to  the  actions  of  man.  The  first  is 
sodium  chloride,  occurring  not  as  it  does  in  the  brine 
springs  just  named,  nor  in  the  waters  of  the  sea,  but  in 
waters  whose  derivation  shows  that  it  can  have  had  no  legiti- 
mate origin,  but  is  rather  an  indication  of  impurity  springing 
from  the  refuse  of  man.  The  second  is  a  salt  of  lead, 
generally  the  oxide  combined  with  water  (that  is,  the  hydrate) 
which  is  formed  by  the  joint  action  upon  lead,  of  water  and 
air.  Rain-water  standing  on  leaden  roofs,  or  in  leaden  gutters, 
comes  to  contain  this  impurity,  so  also  does  any  "  soft "  water 
which  stands  in  leaden  pipes ;  water  containing  sulphates  and 
carbonates  does  not  act  upon  and  dissolve  lead  in  this  way, 
so  that  the  hardest  waters  are  usually  lead-free. 

But  organic  substances  are  also  found  in  solution  in 
water.  From  this  group,  since  we  are  dealing  with  soluble 
substances,  we  must  exclude  all  living  creatures,  for  the  tiny 


CHAP,  v.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  51 

organisms  which  inhabit  water  are,  of  course,  not  dissolved  in 
it.  But  we  include  substances  which  they  produce  as  part  of 
their  life  work,  either  turned  out  from  themselves  (all  soluble 
excreted  matter),  or  produced  in  their  surroundings.  We  have 
said  above  (§  i)  that  all  putrefaction  is  the  result  of  the  work 
of  bacteria,  and  one  feature  of  this  work  is  the  production  of 
substances  which  can  be  carried  off  in  solution  by 
water  which  comes  in  contact  with  decaying  matter. 
If  we  consider  for  a  moment  the  little  runnels  which,  draining 
off  a  patch  of  peaty  soil,  form  some  small  stream,  or  the  water 
draining  away  from  a  farmyard,  we  can  readily  realize  how 
rich  water  may  be  in  the  products  of  decay.  Even  when 
these  small  beginnings  run  into  rivers,  and  become  mixed  with 
rain  water  and  spring  water,  soluble  organic  matters  may  still 
be  present,  although  they  must  be  greatly  diluted  and  have 
sometimes  undergone  chemical  change.  In  rain,  in  deep  wells 
and  in  springs,  soluble  organic  impurities  are  not  common ; 
it  is  in  the  water  of  lakes,  of  rivers  and  of  surface  wells  that 
they  are  often  found.  And  this  is  what  we  might  expect ; 
rain  has  not  yet  touched  the  decay  of  the  earth's  surface ; 
the  water  of  deep  wells  and  springs  has  undergone  changes 
in  its  slow  journeyings  through  the  substance  of  the  earth ; 
but  lakes1,  rivers  and  surface  wells  are  more  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  excreta  or  the  decaying  remains  of  animals 
and  plants. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  soluble  organic  sub- 
stances of  which  we  are  now  speaking  must  be  very  various 
in  nature.  All  living  creatures  can  be  killed  and  then  broken 
up  into  substances  which  are  very  much  the  same  for  each 
creature,  if  the  breaking  up  is  carried  far  enough ;  such  are 
free  nitrogen,  ammonia,  free  hydrogen,  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
carbonic  acid.  But  what  are  called  intermediate  products,  or 
by-products,  are  different  according  to  the  nature  of  the 

1  Lake  water  is  very  variable  in  composition,  and  sometimes  has  very 
little  matter  inorganic  or  organic  in  solution. 

4—2 


52  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

organism  from  which  they  are  formed.  Speaking  of  them  as 
impurities  in  water,  however,  we  usually  group  them  together 
as  "organic  substances,"  partly  perhaps  because  their  special 
nature  is  not  always  determined  (in  "domestic"  water  their 
quantitative  amount  is  small),  partly  because,  as  we  shall  see, 
it  is  important  not  to  neglect  organic  matter  whatever 
may  be  its  nature. 

Closely  connected  with  the  soluble  organic  impurities  of 
water  are  certain  bodies,  themselves  inorganic ;  these  are 
nitrates  and  the  less  highly  oxidized  nitrites.  They  form 
a  most  noteworthy  link  in  the  chain  of  chemical  processes 
by  which  plants  and  animals  are  bound  together,  for  they 
are  the  bodies  which  form  the  main  nitrogenous  food  of  green 
plants  living  on  the  earth.  At  the  same  time  their  source  is 
found  in  all  decaying  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  in  all 
the  nitrogenous  excreta  (or  waste  matter)  of  animals.  The 
soil,  the  mud  of  rivers  and  lakes,  every  sewer  and  every 
refuse  heap,  all  these  are  rich  in  organic  nitrogen,  i.e.  organic 
nitrogen-holding  compounds.  And  among  these  compounds, 
when  the  conditions  of  temperature  and  moisture  are  suitable, 
bacteria  are  working  incessantly  ;  certain  forms  break  up  the 
proteids;  other  forms  break  up  the  less  complicated  nitro- 
genous matter  of  the  excreta  (urea  or  uric  acid) ;  others  finally 
seize  on  the  broken-up  matter  (ammonia)  and  build  it  into 
the  nitrates  of  which  we  are  speaking.  So  it  comes  to  pass 
that  when  nitrates  or  nitrites  are  found  in  water  they  are 
taken  as  indicating  that  organic  matter  is  or  has  recently  been 
present;  it  is  inferred  from  their  occurrence  that  the  water 
holding  them  has  come  in  contact  with  the  processes  of  putre- 
faction, or  of  that  special  form  of  it,  ammoniacal  fermentation, 
and  therefore  certainly  with  bacteria,  and  with  substances 
suitable  for  the  propagation  of  the  bacteria  of  disease. 

In  the  third  place,  substances  are  found,  suspended 
in  water,  These  are  most  varied  in  nature,  for  we  can  say 


CHAP.  V.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  53 

briefly  that  any  particles  which  go  to  make  up  the  dust  of 
the  air  may  also  be  suspended  (if  they  are  insoluble)  in 
water  exposed  to  the  air.  As  dust  "settles"  it  settles  upon 
water,  as  upon  land,  and  though  most  water  is  constantly 
moving — trickling  or  running  from  higher  to  lower  levels— 
nevertheless  it  can  only  escape  from  dust  when  it  moves 
within  the  earth — for  in  the  air,  dust  is  everywhere,  and 
everywhere  is  falling.  In  §  n  we  have  considered  the 
nature  of  dust;  we  have  seen  that  inorganic  and  organic 
particles  may  be  present  in  it  and  the  classification  made 
there  may  be  applied  to  the  particles  in  water.  The  sooty 
rain-water  of  towns  is  rich  in  suspended  carbon,  and  it 
is  mainly  inorganic  matter  in  very  fine  division  which  gives 
a  glacier  stream  its  well-known  milky  colour.  In  the  mud 
of  any  muddy  water,  too,  there  is  abundance  of  suspended 
inorganic  matter,  and  a  moment's  thought  reminds  us  of  the 
sand  and  gravel  washed  down  from  high  lands  in  many 
rapid  mountain  streams.  But  organic  particles  are  often  present 
too,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  have  an  importance  all  their  own. 
Among  them  we  must  distinguish  all  debris  of  plants  and 
animals  which  are  insoluble  in  water,  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on  the  other,  the  tiny  organisms  which  inhabit  water  and  are 
invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  Such  are  certain  members  of 
the  Protozoa  (as  that  group  is  named  which  contains  the 
simplest  animals  known),  the  amoeba,  the  flagellate  infusoria, 
which  are  sometimes  made  the  subjects  of  popular  scientific 
shows ;  such  too  are  the  Bacteria,  and  it  is  with  them 
that  we  are  concerned  here.  We  have  seen  in  an  earlier 
chapter  that  the  presence  of  bacteria  or  their  spores  is 
almost  universal.  In  the  air,  on  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
in  all  natural  waters,  even  in  glacier-ice  they  are  found, 
of  various  species,  and  of  varying  habit.  But  it  is  when  the 
conditions  best  suited  to  their  life  are  realized,  that  they  are 
vigorous,  and  grow  and  increase.  Thus,  in  distilled  water 
they  may  live,  and  as  many  as  35  specimens  have  been  found 


54  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

in  a  litre  of  rain-water,  but  in  these  fluids  there  is  no  abundant 
food ;  again,  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  bacteria  in  glacier- 
ice  are  in  full  activity  for  the  time  being.  Water  is  indeed 
all  important  for  their  well-being,  but  it  must  be  water  bearing 
some  food-materials.  These  are  found  both  in  soluble  organic 
matter  and  in  dead  organic  matter  in  suspension ;  the  waters 
of  springs,  lakes  and  rivers  contain  bacteria  in  numbers  which 
depend  largely  upon  the  amount  of  organic  matter  present, 
and  water  which  has  received  the  outpourings  of  sewers  be- 
comes a  nutrient  fluid  in  which  bacteria  thrive.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  i  cubic  centimetre  of  the  water  of  the  river 
Spree  taken  above  Berlin  contains  about  6000  bacteria,  while 
in  i  cubic  centimetre  of  water  taken  below  the  city  243,000 
are  present.  The  total  number  of  these  minute  creatures  at 
any  moment,  in  any  water,  must  depend  on  very  complex 
conditions ;  even  the  water  of  rain  is  unlike,  according  as  it 
has  fallen  through  dusty  air  or  through  air  washed  by  long 
previous  rain ;  and  the  waters  of  deep  wells  have  lost  by 
filtration  through  the  earth  varying  numbers  of  the  small 
organisms  which  they  gathered  on  the  earth's  surface,  while 
the  completeness  of  the  filtration  must  depend  on  the  nature 
of  the  layers,  or  strata,  which  .have  acted  as  a  filter.  Again, 
a  shallow  river  flowing  through  sunny  land  has  its  bacteria 
exposed  effectively  to  the  action  of  sunshine,  and  we  have 
learned  that  sunshine  is  a  valuable  germicide.  It  can  naturally 
act  much  less  in  the  turbid  waters  of  some  deep  river  flowing 
between  high  banks  or  beneath  clouds  and  smoke.  And  in 
addition  to  these  factors  we  have  what  is  of  great  importance, 
the  strife  of  different  kinds  of  bacteria.  When  many 
different  kinds  are  present  in  any  given  water  it  is  practically 
certain  that  a  struggle  takes  place  among  them  ;  some  are 
weakened  or  killed;  others  are  able  to  get  the  upper  hand, 
and  flourish,  making  use  of  such  food  matters  as  the  water 
supplies. 

In  Chapter  n.  we  have  distinguished  between  pathogenic 


CHAP.  V.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  55 

and  non-pathogenic  bacteria, — those  respectively  which  do  and 
do  not  produce  disease  in  human  beings.  Many  of  the 
organisms  found  in  the  water  of  springs  and  rivers  belong  to 
the  latter  group ;  they  are  not  disease-producing ;  but  disease- 
producing  forms  do  occur,  for  example,  when  water  has  been 
in  contact  with  human  refuse.  It  will  be  readily  understood 
that  such  refuse  is  often  disease-bearing,  and  the  soil  of  the 
earth,  always  rich  in  bacteria,  almost  always  contains 
some  pathogenic  forms  when  it  is  taken  from  culti- 
vated spots,  such  as  gardens. 

We  see  then  that  natural  waters  are  never  pure.  Their 
impurities  are  : 

(a)  Gases  of  various  kinds ;  the  gases  of  air,  although 
not  in  the  proportion  in  which  they  exist  in  the  atmosphere ; 
sometimes  nitric  acid  ;  sometimes  ammonia. 

(ft)  Inorganic  substances  in  solution.  The  salts 
of  calcium  (hard  waters)  have  the  widest  distribution  ;  salts 
of  magnesium,  sodium  and  iron  are  also  found.  Nitrates  and 
nitrites  springing  from  the  breaking  down  and  mineralization 
of  organic  nitrogenous  matter  occur,  and  salts  of  lead  follow 
the  action  of  soft  water  on  leaden  pipes,  gutters,  and  roofs. 

(c)  Organic    substances    in    solution,    mainly   the 
products  of  the  activity  of  plant  life  and  animal  life,  or  sub- 
stances immediately  arising  from  the  breaking  down  of  these. 

(d)  Inorganic  substances  not  dissolved  but  in  sus- 
pended particles ;  mainly  carbon,  or  the  solid  substance  of 
the  earth,  and  therefore  very  varied  in  nature. 

(e)  Organic  substances  in  suspension ;  living  or  dead 
microscopic  organisms ;   Protozoa  or   Bacteria  or   other 
very  simple  fungi. 


56  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 


B.     The  importance  of  the  impurities  in  natural  waters. 

§  20.  We  have  now  to  ask,  What  is  the  importance  of 
these  foreign  constituents  ?  How  far  may  they  be  disregarded 
in  what  is  commonly  called  the  use  of  water  for  domestic 
purposes  ? 

(a)  Gases.  Ammonia  and  nitric  acid  are  poisonous 
except  in  exceedingly  small  quantities,  but  the  gases  of  or- 
dinary atmospheric  air  are  without  effect  in  drinking  water 
except  upon  the  palate  (that  is,  probably,  upon  certain  nerves), 
and  their  presence  does  not  touch  the  value  of  water  for 
cleansing  purposes.  The  action  on  the  palate  is  clear  with 
most  persons;  water  from  which  the  atmospheric  gases  have 
been  expelled  by  boiling  is  usually  distasteful,  and  the 
"  stimulus "  of  abundant  carbonic  acid  (in  sparkling  waters) 
gives  rise  to  sensations  that  are  generally  pleasurable.  It  is 
urged  by  some  that  carbonic  acid  has  a  further  action,  tending 
to  promote  movements  of  the  intestines  and  so  to 
work  against  constipation.  The  action  is  not  recog- 
nized universally,  but  we  could  readily  imagine  that  the  gas 
might  act  mechanically,  stirring  up  the  nerves  of  the  intestinal 
wall,  or  perhaps  the  muscles  themselves,  and  thus  provoking 
muscular  contractions. 

(V)  Inorganic  substances  in  solution.  These  have 
important  action  in  washing  waters  and  in  drinking  waters. 

In  washing  waters  it  is  salts  of  lime  which  are  especially 
disadvantageous.  We  have  said  that  it  is  they  which  make 
water  "hard,"  and  that  the  term  "hard"  expresses  the  fact 
that  the  water  which  it  describes  is  a  soap  destroyer.  But  the 
use  of  soap,  in  cleansing  either  clothes  or  utensils,  is  to  break 
up  the  greasy  matter  which  helps  to  form  "  dirt  "  so  that  by 
rubbing  and  other  suitable  treatment  it  may  be  removed;  if 
the  soap  is  used  to  make  chemical  combination  with  the  salts 


CHAP.  V.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  57 

of  hard  waters,  i.e.  is  "destroyed,"  it  is  wasted  from  a  com- 
mercial point  of  view.  To  a  less  degree,  the  hardness  is  a 
drawback  when  water  is  used  for  cleansing  the  person.  Pro- 
bably, for  cleansing  all  but  the  very  unclean,  water  and  rubbing 
are  more  important  than  soap ;  they  are  enough  to  stimulate 
or  excite  the  skin  to  proper  activity,  and  to  remove  the  products 
of  its  action.  But,  for  susceptible  or  delicate  skins,  water 
charged  with  lime  is  harmful,  not  as  a  soap  destroyer  but  in 
another  way.  Unless  used  carefully,  it  may  irritate  the  skin 
surface  generally,  or  it  may  aid  in  blocking  the  exit  ducts 
of  some  of  the  minute  skin  glands,  so  that  small  "cysts" 
filled  with  hardened  substance,  or  with  matter,  arise.  As  a 
drink,  hard  water  offers  a  protection  when  leaden  pipes  are 
employed  for  carriage ;  the  series  of  chemical  changes  by  which 
the  pipes  are  eaten  away  and  a  compound  of  lead  is  dissolved 
in  water,  does  not  take  place,  at  least  where  carbonates  are 
present  in  the  water.  Drunk  in  small  quantities  the  salts  of 
hard  water  have  not  been  shown  to  be  harmful,  except  in 
cases  of  special  delicacy  of  the  stomach  or  intestines,  but  it 
is  a  doubtful  benefit  to  drink  large  quantities  of  such  waters. 
Thus  a  patient,  carrying  out  the  Salisbury  cure,  in  a  limestone 
district,  would  probably  be  ordered  to  use  distilled  water  for 
his  large  daily  consumption,  rather  than  the  natural  chalky 
waters  of  limestone  earth. 

Of  the  other  soluble  inorganic  impurities  of  natural  waters, 
we  may  say  that  their  importance  lies  in  their  presence  in 
drinking-waters,  rather  than  in  cleansing-waters.  We  might, 
without  serious  harm,  wash  a  floor  with  a  solution  of  Epsom 
salts  or  with  Vichy  water  ;  we  might  wash  body-linen  in  water 
containing  some  salts  of  lead ;  but  these  waters  used  for  drinking 
have  marked  effect.  The  saline  waters  are,  for  the  most  part, 
aperient1.  They  induce  passage  of  unusual  quantity  of  fluid 
from  the  capillaries  of  the  intestinal  walls  into  the  intestine. 

1  See  below,  §  27. 


58  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

Thus  the  waste  matters  moving  down  the  intestine  become 
more  fluid  than  their  wont ;  their  passage  is  more  rapid,  their 
expulsion  more  easy.  It  is  clear  that  such  an  action  may  be 
of  great  service  occasionally,  and  when  used  intelligently,  but 
that  it  would  upset  the  healthy  action  of  the  body  if  the 
waters  provoking  it  were  drunk  indiscriminatingly.  Waters 
containing  nitrates  and  nitrites  are  of  themselves  without 
special  effect  in  domestic  use,  but  they  are  often  avoided  as 
undrinkable,  lest  the  inorganic  salts  should  indicate  the 
presence  of  organic  matter,  still  unchanged,  or  only  partly 
changed  by  chemical  action  (cp.  above).  Salts  of  lead  are 
a  most  serious  impurity  in  drinking-water.  Even  in  very 
small  quantities  they  are  poisonous,  even  fatally  poisonous ; 
indeed,  among  the  harmful  inorganic  impurities,  they  must 
be  placed  first. 

(c)  Organic  substances  in  solution.  The  effect  of 
these  depends  on  their  nature ;  some  organic  substances  may 
be  dissolved  in  drinking-water  without  acting  for  ill,  but  many 
soluble  products  of  bacterial  action  are  most  harmful.  These 
are  often  grouped  together  and  spoken  of  as  toxines ;  for, 
though  physiological  proof  of  their  existence  and  power  is 
well  established,  they  have  not  in  many  cases  been  isolated 
as  separate  chemical  bodies.  Thus,  the  bacteria  of  tetanus 
(lockjaw)  produce  a  toxine  which  can  set  up  lockjaw  if  in- 
troduced into  a  healthy  animal ;  and  the  bacteria  of  diphtheria 
gives  rise  to  a  toxine  which  can  set  up  fatal  diphtheria.  These 
actions  are  performed  when,  by  careful  experiment,  the  toxines 
are  freed  from  the  bacteria  of  tetanus  or  of  diphtheria  re- 
spectively, but  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  in  cases 
of  water-pollution  the  disease-producing  bacteria  and  their 
poisonous  products  are  present  together.  We  may  say,  indeed, 
that  organic  matter  in  solution  in  drinking-water  is  always 
suspicious  :  it  may  have  a  special  harmful  action  of  its 
own ;  it  does  'indicate  the  presence  of  bacteria  with  all 


CHAP,  v.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  59 

their  possibilities  for  evil.  In  clean  sing- waters  the  im- 
portance of  soluble  matters  of  this  nature  is  less ;  but  it 
would  be  inadvisable  to  bathe  or  to  wash  such  utensils,  as 
were  to  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  eating  and  drinking,  in 
water  rich  in  soluble  organic  matters. 

(d)  Inorganic  substances  in  suspension.  We  may 
say,  briefly,  that  these  are  undesirable  in  drinking-waters,  and 
often  injurious  in  waters  used  for  cleansing.  Thus,  the  rain- 
water of  large  towns  cannot  generally  be  used  for  washing 
clothes  because  of  its  suspended  carbon,  and  this,  although 
its  softness  would  make  it  an  excellent  medium  for  washing. 
Again,  glacier  water,  or  the  water  drawn  from  some  deep 
wells,  and  containing  sand,  would  not  be  chosen  for  purposes 
of  washing  or  bathing,  although  it  may  be  argued  that  the 
scrubbing  action  of  the  fine  particles  is  cleansing  and  stimu- 
lating, and,  certainly,  a  Swiss  laundress  would  not  hesitate  to 
make  use  of  a  glacier  stream.  In  considering  the  presence 
of  similar  particles  in  drinking-water  we  must  remember  that 
the  alimentary  canal  (mouth,  stomach,  intestines,  etc.)  is  really 
outside  the  body,  and,  as  long  as  a  continuous  sheet  of  cells 
clothes  it,  foreign  matter  within  the  canal  cannot  do  much 
harm.  If  such  matter  be  abundant  enough  or  penetrating 
enough  to  injure  the  cells  of  the  wall,  then  grave  consequences 
may  follow.  We  named  the  stonemason's  lung  and  the  knife- 
grinder's  lung  as  comparable  cases  of  injury  induced  by 
breathing  impurities ;  but  the  lining-cells  of  the  lung  are  more 
delicate  than  those  of  the  bowel,  and  it  would  indeed  be  rare 
to  find,  in  drinking-water,  suspended  matter  as  dense  and 
irritating  as  that  loading  the  air  in  the  carrying  out  of  certain 
trades. 

(<?)  Organic  substances  in  suspension.  It  will  be 
gathered  from  what  has  been  said  above,  that  these  may  be 
by  far  the  most  dangerous  impurities  in  water.  As  regards 
water  used  for  bathing  or  cleansing,  they  are  only  important 


60  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I 

if  such  water  can  be  the  means  of  carrying  them  to  some 
susceptible  part  of  a  living  animal.  Natives  in  India  have 
been  known  to  wash  milk-cans  with  unboiled  water  rich  in 
the  bacterium  which  is  the  immediate  cause  of  cholera,  and 
to  spread  a  jelly-bag  to  uair"  upon  sand  or  earth  abounding 
in  the  same  pathogenic  forms.  Fortunately,  in  England,  the 
conditions  which  make  such  action  fatal  do  not  often  exist ; 
fortunately,  of  the  many  kinds  of  bacteria  present  in  almost 
all  natural  waters,  the  majority  are  harmless.  But,  because 
the  harmful  or  pathogenic  forms  are  so  powerful,  everything 
that  may  indicate  or  allow  their  presence  should  be  taken 
as  a  danger  signal.  Chlorides  and  nitrites  are  (as  we  have 
said)  innocent  in  themselves :  but  if  chlorides  indicate  pol- 
lution with  sewage  from  dwellings,  if  nitrites  show  that  organic 
matter  has  but  lately  been  changed  in  the  water,  then,  re- 
membering the  foulness  and  mixed  character  of  sewage,  and 
the  widespread  existence  of  disease  among  men,  we  must  look 
on  these  innocent  substances  with  suspicion. 

Indeed,  looking  back  on  the  list  of  impurities  given,  ,ve 
may  say  briefly,  that  if  asked  to  name  those  which  are  im- 
portant before  all  the  rest,  we  should  say  : 

For  laundry-work,  those  constituents  which  are  soap 
destroyers. 

For  drinking-water,  bacteria. 


C.      The  treatment  of  the  impurities  in  natural  waters. 

§  21.  It  is  not  given  to  most  housewives  to  choose  the 
water  which  shall  be  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  then 
to  purify  it.  Any  water  may  be  purified  by  distillation,  but 
distillation,  to  be  efficient,  needs  more  than  the  appliances 
of  an  ordinary  household.  And  the  choice  of  water  is  usually 
narrow,  especially  to  the  dwellers  in  towns ;  it  is  not  the  house- 


CHAP,  v.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  61 

keeper  who  organizes  the  water  supply  and  plans  the  sanitary 
appliances.  But,  these  facts  notwithstanding,  a  grave  respon- 
sibility rests  on  each  housekeeper;  she  can  minimize  if  she 
cannot  abolish  the  risks  of  water-drinking ;  she  can  often 
make  water  harmless,  if  she  cannot  make  it  pure.  Let  us 
remember  whence  we  draw  our  water ;  primarily,  of  course, 
from  rain,  but  immediately  from  springs  and  surface  wells, 
and  such  deep  borings  as  are  needed  for  Artesian  wells ; 
and  from  rivers  and  lakes.  There  is  hardly  any  modern  house 
in  which  water  is  not  "laid  on,"  running  to  taps  through 
leaden  pipes.  All  water,  then,  has  fallen  from  the  heavens, 
and  much  of  it,  before  use,  has  had  considerable  contact  with 
the  earth.  We  will  consider  briefly  which  of  the  impurities 
named  above  is  'specially  characteristic  of  each  source. 

Rain-water  contains  gases,  bacteria,  often  suspended 
carbon  particles,  sometimes  lead,  and,  under  special  con 
ditions,  nitric  acid,  sulphurous  acid,  ammonia. 

Surface- well  water  contains  gases,  often  bacteria  and 
their  products,  sometimes  foulness  from  the  drainage  of  cess- 
pools and  other  impurities  of  cultivation. 

Deep-well  water  is  often  poor  in  bacteria  and  their 
immediate  products.  The  earth  has  acted  as  a  filter  and, 
during  the  slow  filtration,  chemical  action  has  gone  on, 
breaking  up  the  "toxines"  or  other  matters  formed  by  bac- 
teria. But  this  slow  passage  through  the  earth  has  often  caused 
much  inorganic  matter  to  go  into  solution  ;  such  water  then, 
may  be  rich  in  mineral  compounds. 

Spring- water  has  much  in  common  with  the  water  of 
deep  wells ;  both  have  had  a  long  passage  through  the  sub- 
stance of  the  earth,  both,  it  may  be  added,  contain  a  relatively 
great  amount  of  carbonic  acid ;  the  "  sparkle  "  of  some  spring- 
water  is  due  to  the  presence  of  this  gas.  And  in  spring-water, 
as  in  deep-well  water,  bacteria  and  their  products  are  scanty. 

River-water  and  lake-water  is   mixed  in  origin  and 


62  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

varied  in  character.  Bacteria  are  always  present,  and,  some- 
times, disease-producing  bacteria ;  their  numbers  depend  on 
the  course  of  the  water,  its  depth,  its  exposure  to  sunlight, 
the  conflict  of  various  forms,  and  on  conditions  so  complex 
that  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  statement  which  shall  be  true 
for  all  lakes  and  all  rivers.  But  we  may  say,  generally,  that 
their  waters  are  rich  in  organic  matter,  and  poor  in  inorganic 
substances  in  solution,  for  on  the  one  hand  they  have  com- 
monly had  sewage  contamination,  on  the  other  hand  the 
"hard"  waters  of "  the  springs  which  help  to  feed  them  are 
diluted  with  rain-water,  and  probably  lose  their  calcium  salts 
to  some  of  the  minute  animals  living  in  lakes  and  rivers. 

How  should  a  housekeeper  deal  with  water  which  may 
reach  her  from  one  or  from  more  than  one  of  these  sources  ? 

(a)  There  is  no  doubt  that  boiling  is  the  most  effectual 
safeguard,  at  least  for  drinking-water.  By  boiling  sufficiently 
all  disease-producing  bacteria  are  killed,  or,  if  spores  are 
present,  their  vitality — in  other  words  their  virulence — is  les- 
sened. Toxines  may  possibly  be  broken  up  by  boiling1,  for 
they  are  unstable,  but,  in  such  amount  as  they  might  occur, 
they  would  be  comparatively  harmless  if  unsupported  by  the 
active  bacteria.  Boiling  also  drives  off  carbonic  acid,  and 
thus  some  of  the  carbonate  of  lime  which  was  dissolved  by 
its  aid  falls  as  a  white  sediment  or  forms  a  white  scum.  But 
it  must  be  remembered  that  this  precipitated  salt  of  lime  should 
be  removed  either  by  deposit  or  by  straining,  because  if  taken 
with  the  boiled  water  we  cannot  say  that  the  softening 
is  effectual. 

1  I  do  not  think  this  has  been  demonstrated.  It  must  be  remembered 
that,  e.g.,  the  diphtheria  toxine  which  has  been  injected  with  fatal  effect 
was  prepared  from  a  pure  culture  of  the  diphtheria  bacterium  ;  now  toxines 
which  occur  in  drinking-waters  must  be  very  largely  diluted, — that  is  to 
say,  that  the  danger  from  them  is  negligible  as  compared  with  the  danger 
from  living  bacteria, 


CHAP.  V.]  Water  in  relation  to  Life.  63 

(b)  Filtration  is  valuable  if  properly  carried  out,  but 
very  often  it  is  not  properly  carried  out.     A  filter  which  is  at 
all    neglected   becomes    mainly   a   nursery   for    bacteria  ; 
air,   water,    organic    matter,    the    bacteria   themselves,    are   all 
present,  and  if  the  filter  be  kept  in  some  rather  warm  corner, 
the  temperature  is  highly  favourable  too.     Commercial  filtra- 
tion and  chemical  filtration  are   efficient ;    domestic    filtration 
may  be  efficient,  but  is  often  a  mockery  of  purification. 

(c)  Neither  boiling  nor   filtration  will  free  a  water  from 
the  salts  of  lead.     Here  a  housekeeper  must  consider  the 
nature  of  the  water  she  uses.     If  it  be  a  hard  water  there  is 
little  risk  of  lead  pollution ;   if  it  be  a  soft   water   it   should 
always  be  taken  from  the  pipes  for  use  after  considerable 
flow.     It  is  desirable  that  drinking  water  should  never  stay 
in  a  cistern ;   anyone  so  placed  that  the  use  of  a  cistern    is 
inevitable,  should  insure  by  regular  running  of  the  water  that 
there  is  little  stagnation,  either  in  the  cistern,  or  in  pipes. 

(d)  Finally,    there    are    two    precautions   which    are    less 
obvious  than  the  foregoing. 

It  has  been  found  that  when  river-water  is  allowed  to 
stand,  the  bacteria  in  it  increase  in  number  considerably.  It 
is  advisable  then,  that  drinking  water  should  be  freshly  drawn. 

And  it  has  been  found  further,  that  foreign  bacteria  intro- 
duced into  sterilized  water  live  better  than  if  introduced  into 
water  from  the  same  source,  but  unsterilized.  Clearly  then, 
boiled  water  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  uncovered  if  it  is 
to  be  drunk.  It  would,  in  this  sterilized  condition,  prove  a 
medium  favourable  to  the  life  of  contaminating  bacteria.  In 
fact,  if  standing  be  inevitable,  as  in  some  cases  of  scant  water 
supply,  it  is  well  to  place  the  boiled  water  in  a  covered  glass 
vessel  in  the  sunshine. 

It  may  be  urged  that  the  procedure  recommended  here  is 
a  "  counsel  of  perfection  " ;  this  may  be  so,  but  it  is  at  least 


64  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

procedure  which  would  serve  well  in  times  of  epidemic  disease, 
or  in  other  specially  anxious  conditions ;  it  is  procedure  from 
which  each  housewife  can  shape  her  own  action,  having  regard 
to  her  individual  needs.  And  it  may  be  urged,  further,  that 
we  have  dwelt  unduly  on  the  treatment  of  drinking-water, 
and  neglected  the  treatment  of  water  for  the  laundry.  It 
must  be  remembered  however  that  specialization  of  work 
grows  as  the  years  pass.  The  number  of  households  who  give 
"  washing  "  to  professional  laundries  constantly  increases  ;  the 
problem  of  softening  hard  waters  (by  means  other  than 
boiling,  with  precautions)  is  transferred.  But,  though  many 
persons  do  not  wash  clothes,  almost  everyone  drinks.  And 
it  will  probably  be  admitted  that  the  destruction  of  soap,  even 
the  destruction  of  clothes,  and  the  expenditure  of  labour,  are 
all  evils  less  crying  than  is  the  spread  of  disease  which  may 
weaken  or  destroy  man. 


CHAP.  VI.]  65 


CHAPTER   VI. 
Foodstuffs. 

§  22.  WE  learn,  from  the  teachings  of  Physiology,  that  all 
the  living  creatures  in  the  world  are  continually  undergoing 
loss  of  their  substance ;  the  living  matter  of  which  they  are 
made  up  is  always  breaking  down  into  less  complex  bodies 
which  are  no  longer  living.  The  rate  at  which  this  takes  place 
varies  in  the  case  of  different  creatures ;  plants,  for  example, 
lose  much  less  substance  than  do  animals.  But  such  an 
animal  as  a  man  constantly  suffers  loss  of  nitrogen-holding 
bodies  (mainly  urea)  by  the  kidneys,  loss  of  carbonic  acid  by 
the  lungs,  loss  of  salts  of  various  complexity  by  the  skin,  and 
in  each  case  there  is  also  loss  of  water.  The  substances  which 
are  taken  into  the  body  to  replace  this  loss  are  in  the  first  place 
the  oxygen  of  the  air,  and  in  the  second  place  the  heterogeneous 
bodies  which  we  call  Food.  It  is  our  business  here  to  ask 
briefly  how  food  acts,  what  part  of  the  various  articles  of  diet 
which  we  eat  and  drink  daily  are  truly  foodstuffs,  and  how,  for 
good  or  ill,  we  affect  various  foods  by  one  treatment  of  them 
or  another  before  use. 

The  Nature  of  Foodstuffs. 

§  23.  We  cannot  analyse  the  living  substance  of  which  a 
plant  or  an  animal  is  made,  without  destroying  it ;  even  the  most 
skilful  chemist  is  unskilled  in  dealing  with  the  delicate  fabric 

B-  5 


66  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

of  protoplasm1.  Now  we  know  that  in  the  absence  of  proto- 
plasm we  do  not  meet  with  the  voluntary  movement,  and  the 
sensitiveness,  which  belong  to  the  popular  idea  of  life;  we 
know  that  behind  these  characteristics,  and  of  the  first  import- 
ance to  a  physiologist,  though  the  world  hardly  realizes  them, 
are  complex  chemical  processes  equally  inseparable  from  proto- 
plasm, equally  incapable  of  imitation  in  the  laboratory,  and 
we  know  that  when  by  analysis,  living  matter  is  killed  (broken 
down)  and  then  investigated,  certain  bodies  are  always  present. 
This  knowledge,  although  in  one  sense  limited,  is  of  the 
highest  value,  for  it  is  our  guide  in  examining  the  nature,  the 
importance,  and  the  fate  of  Foods. 

The  bodies  which  are  always  found  when  "living  substance" 
is  thus  examined  after  death  are  : 

(a)  Proteids2,  which,  as  we  know,  are  nitrogen-holding, 
and  which  contain  besides  the  chemical  elements, 
oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon  (this  very  abundantly), 
and  sulphur  (in  varying,  but  small  amount),  often 
phosphorus,  and  sometimes  iron. 

(&)  Salts.  These  are  various  in  nature ;  common  salt 
or  chloride  of  sodium  is  a  familiar  example  and 
very  generally  present,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  carbonates  and  phosphates  often  occur. 

(c)  Water.     This    is    always    present,    forming    about 

three-quarters  of  the  total  weight. 

In  the  great  majority  of  animals  and  plants,  and  in  man, 
we  find : 

(d)  Carbohydrates,  holding  the  elements  carbon,  hydro- 

gen, and  oxygen. 

1  This  term  is  used  as  synonymous  with  "  nibstance  which  lives.1" 

2  After   evaporating  the  water  from  a  proteid  the   residue   contains 
(roughly)  about  |  carbon,  i  oxygen,    £   nitrogen,  and   -JT   hydrogen  by 
weight. 


CHAP.  VI.]  Foodstuffs.  67 

(<?)  Fats ;  these  also  hold  the  elements  carbon,  hydro- 
gen, oxygen,  but  in  proportions  and  arrangement 
different  from  those  which  obtain  in  the  carbo- 
hydrates. 

Of  these  bodies  the  carbohydrates,  fats  and  proteids 
(notably  the  proteids),  are  highly  complex  in  composition ; 
they  are  represented  in  the  daily  waste  of  a  man  by  the 
simpler  substances  named  above, — urea  in  the  urine,  and 
carbonic  acid  in  the  breath.  And,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is 
daily  loss  of  water  and  of  salts.  If  food  is  to  repair  this  waste 
it  must  consist  of  the  complex  bodies  thus  broken  down  by 
the  chemical  changes  of  daily  life,  or  of  substance  which  can 
be  built  into  these  bodies.  Now  the  building-up  power  or 
constructive  power  of  living  beings  varies  greatly1;  a  green 
plant  yields  proteids,  fats,  and  carbohydrates  upon  analysis, 
but  does  not  feed  upon  them  :  in  the  sunlight  it  builds  them 
up  indirectly  or  directly  from  simpler  substances.  But  a  man 
cannot  thus  build  up,  and  the  food  which  is  supplied  to  him 
day  by  day  must  contain  the  more  complex  bodies.  The  last 
stage  of  construction  is,  however,  performed  by  man 
and  all  living  things;  protoplasm  (that  is,  living  sub: 
stance)  given  as  food,  is  killed  in  the  consumption ;  and 
thus  converted  into  dead  proteids  with  admixture  of  other 
bodies;  the  annexation  of  dead  substance  to  make 
living  substance  is  the  work  of  living  substance  and 
of  that  alone.  But,  apart  from  this  final  step,  the  construc- 
tive power  of  man  is,  as  we  have  said,  slight,  from  a  chemical 
point  of  view,  and  we  find  that  he  is  most  efficiently  nourished 
when  proteids,  fats,  carbohydrates,  salts  and  water,  form  con- 
stituents of  his  daily  food. 

The  Proteids  must  not  be  grouped  together  indiscrimin 
ately.     There  are,  it  is  true,  certain  points  of  behaviour  (or 

1  See  above,  §  i. 

5—2 


68  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

reactions]  in  which  all  proteids  are  alike,  but  there  are  others 
which  divide  them  into  groups, — not  without  interest  to  the 
cook  or  nurse.  Thus,  many  proteids  dissolve  in  water  (native 
albumens,  albumoses,  peptones) ;  others  will  not  dissolve  unless 
some  neutral  salt  be  present  (globulins)  or  unless  the  solution 
be  acid  (acid  albumen)  or  alkaline  (alkali  albumen).  Again, 
many  proteids  are  changed  by  the  action  of  heat  so  as  to 
become  more  insoluble, — practically  more  indigestible, — and 
among  these  are  albumens  and  globulins ;  others  can  be 
heated  without  losing  digestibility, — this  is  true  of  acid  and 
alkali  albumen,  of  peptones,  and  of  albumoses.  Lastly,  some 
proteids  are  especially  complex,  being  bound  up  with  some 
substance  which  is  not  a  proteid ;  in  ox-gall  and  in  the  secretion 
from  many  salivary  glands  a  complex  body  of  this  nature  is 
found,  but  not  used  as  food ;  the  casein  of  milk,  however, 
forms  another  and  somewhat  different  example,  and  is,  of 
course,  highly  valued  for  purposes  of  feeding.  We  will  speak 
presently  of  the  different  articles  of  diet  which  are  rich  in  one 
or  more  or  many  proteids ;  this  brief  statement  will  serve  to 
show  that  different  members  of  the  group  (and  there- 
fore different  proteid-holding  foods)  need  different 
treatment  if  their  full  nutritive  value  is  to  be  realized1. 
The  Carbohydrates  are  familiar  as  starch,  dextrin,  and 
the  various  sugars.  To  these  may  possibly  be  added  cellulose; 
it  is  a  carbohydrate,  but,  for  man  at  least,  a  doubtful  food.  If, 
including  it,  we  arrange  the  members  of  this  group  in  de- 
creasing order  of  solubility,  the  series  runs  thus;  cellulose, 
starch,  the  dextrins,  the  sugars.  For  solubility  we  may  without 
great  inaccuracy  read  digestibility,  thus,  cellulose  is  acted 
upon  by  none  of  the  digestive  fluids  of  the  human  alimentary 
canal;  raw  starch  is  almost  equally  refractory,  and  boiled 
starch,  incapable  of  absorption  as  starch,  is  changed  to 
sugar  by  action  of  the  saliva  and  pancreatic  juice.  Dextrin 

1  The  substance  gelatine  which  is  allied  to  proteids  will  be  treated  of 
later.     See  below,  §  28. 


CHAP.  VI.]  Foodstuffs.  69 

is  to  be  regarded  as  on  the  way  to  sugar,  and  the  sugars 
themselves  are  probably  fit  for  absorption  with  very  slight 
digestive  change,  or  none. 

We  notice  that  among  the  carbohydrates  (as  in  the  case  of 
the  proteids)  for  absorption  from  the  alimentary  canal,  and 
probably,  later,  for  transport  through  the  body,  relatively 
insoluble  bodies  are  made  soluble  by  the  action  of  the 
digestive  organs.  In  various  regions  of  animals  and  plants  we 
meet  with  members  of  these  groups  which  may  be  called  in- 
soluble,— the  abundant  starch  of  plants,  the  glycogen  of  the 
human  liver,  many  of  the  proteids  of  almost  all  cells.  But 
these  bodies  are  not  taken  in  or  passed  on  as  such,  but  at 
times  of  transport  have  been  changed  to  allied  bodies  of  high 
solubility.  This  is  seen  clearly  when  we  recall  the  physiology 
of  digestion.  Of  the  proteids  named  above  the  albumoses  and 
peptones  are  the  most  soluble,  and  they  alone  of  proteids 
are  diffusible1.  And,  as  we  know,  it  is  albumoses  and 
peptones  which  are  formed  abundantly  by  peptic  digestion  in 
the  stomach  and  by  the  action  of  pancreatic  juice  in  the 
intestine.  The  albuminates  too  (this  word  includes  acid  albu- 
men and  alkali  albumen)  are  capable  of  being  absorbed,  and 
they  are  formed  in  digestion.  And  it  is  clear  that  dextrin 
and  the  sugars — mainly  the  latter—  form  the  goal  of  digestive 
change  on  starch. 

The  Fats  of  food  are  either  (a)  present  in  the  tissues  in 
which  they  have  been  laid  down  in  life  and  thus  enclosed  in 
the  cells  of  these  tissues,  or  (b)  they  are  taken  out  or  extracted, 
running  together  into  irregular  masses  of  large  size,  or  (c]  more 
rarely  kept  apart  as  small,  separate  globules.  In  suet,  to  a 
certain  extent  in  cooked  meat,  in  most  nuts  (eaten  raw),  and 
in  the  diseased  pate  de  foie  gras,  the  fat  is  in  the  first  con- 
dition; in  dripping,  butter,  the  oils,  it  is  extracted  without 

1  It  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  lay  stress  upon  the  small  differences 
which  exist  between  albumoses  and  peptones. 


/o  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

subsequent  mechanical  splitting  up :  and  milk  is  the  most 
familiar  example  of  natural  fine  division,  that  is,  of  an  emulsion. 
The  chemical  form  in  which  fat  is  usually  eaten  in  Europe  is 
that  of  neutral  fats,  which  may  be  compared  very  roughly 
with  complex  oxides.  But  under  certain  conditions  (and  as 
we  know  during  pancreatic  digestion)  these  change,  splitting  up 
into  the  substance  glycerine  and  free  fatty  adds.  As  any  acid, 
meeting  with  a  base,  unites  with  it  to  form  a  salt — and  that  this 
is  true  we  know  from  the  most  elementary  study  of  chemistry — 
so  the  fatty  acids  combine  with  bases  when  these  occur 
suitably.  But  in  this  case  the  resulting  salt  has  a  special 
name, — it  is  called  a  soap,  and  it  is  soluble  (e.g.  sodium)  or 
insoluble  (e.g.  lead)  according  to  the  nature  of  the  base  which 
has  helped  to  form  it.  Thus  we  may,  and  in  the  intestine  we 
do,  deal  with  neutral  fats,  with  fatty  acids,  and  with  soaps. 
The  exact  chemical  form  in  which  fat  is  best  suited  for 
absorption  has  not  been  clearly  settled  by  experiment,  but 
there  seems  evidence  that  soaps  and  the  fatty  acids  are  es- 
pecially concerned.  If  this  is  so,  we  have  (as  in  the  case  of 
the  other  foods)  digestive  action  leading  up  to  absorp- 
tion, by  chemical  change. 

The  variation  in  melting  point  which  characterizes  different 
fats  is  among  their  most  striking  physical  features.  A  piece  of 
lard  swallowed  by  a  frog  may  be  found,  later,  in  the  intestine 
— partially  digested  indeed,  but  with  a  residue  of  unchanged 
consistency.  The  same  substance  soon  becomes  fluid  in  the 
stomach  of  the  warm-blooded  animal,  man,  whereas  we  may 
gather  that  the  wax  of  a  bee's  honeycomb  passes  unmelted 
through  the  human  intestine,  since  it  is  solid  up  to  a  tem- 
perature of  63°  C.  It  is,  on  the  whole,  characteristic  of 
vegetable  fats  that  they  have  lower  melting  points  than  the 
fats  obtained  from  animals,  and  this  has  perhaps  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  use  of  the  term  oil  in  speaking  of  them ;  but 
a  series  arranged  with  regard  to  melting  points,  shows  a  cer- 
tain admixture  of  the  products  of  animals  and  plants,  for 


CHAP.  VI.]  Foodstuffs.  71 

animal  fats  differ  widely  among  themselves.  The  fat  of  mutton 
is  hard, — but  it  is  fluid  during  the  life  of  the  sheep,  and 
practically  all  fats,  or  mixtures  of  them,  which  are  important 
constituents  of  the  food  of  man  are  fluid  at  the  temperature  of 
the  human  stomach. 

Not  only  are  the  fats  of  food  melted  during  digestion,  but 
they  are  also  emulsified.  Sometimes  the  natural  emulsion, 
milk,  is  part  of  food,  sometimes  artificial  emulsions  are  eaten. 
Among  them  are  such  sauces  as  mayonnaise,  Hollandaise,  and 
such  prepared  nutrients  as  Cremor  hordeatus  or  some  forms 
of  cod-liver  oil.  But,  in  the  food  of  the  healthy,  the  fat 
(butter,  cheese,  fat  of  meat,  nuts)  is  relatively  massive,  and  it  is 
the  work  of  the  pancreatic  juice  (in  the  presence  of  small 
amounts  of  fatty  acids)  to  break  up  these  massive  irregular 
drops  into  minute  particles,  forming  a  sort  of  cream.  In  past 
years  it  was  believed  that  this  creamy  mass  of  (chiefly)  neutral 
fats  was  taken  up  as  such  by  the  mobile  cells  of  the  intestinal 
walls  :  we  have  said  above  that  recent  work  points  to  chemical 
change  before  absorption, — change  to  fatty  acids  and  further, 
to  soaps.  But  even  in  this  event  the  emulsification  is  of  great 
importance,  for  all  chemical  change  is  carried  out  more  readily, 
more  thoroughly,  if  the  body  changed  is  in  a  state  of  minute 
division. 

Saline  Matters  or  Salts  form  part  of  every  natural  diet, 
and  an  animal,  deprived  of  them  by  careful  artificial  treatment, 
dies.  The  term  salts  is  popularly  associated  with  mineral 
compounds ;  and  indeed  chloride  of  sodium  and  phosphates  of 
lime  and  of  sodium  play  especially  important  parts  in  the 
chemistry  of  the  living  body.  Such  inorganic  salts  are  some- 
times eaten  uncombined  with  articles  of  food,  and  merely 
accompanying  them  : — we  know  that  the  great  majority  of 
dishes  are  served  with  sodium  chloride  as  an  ingredient  or 
an  addition.  But  the  action  of  the  saline  matter  is  more 
effective  when  it  forms  an  integral  part  of  food.  Instances  of 
this  union  will  be  given  later  (§  47),  but  we  may  here  recall 


72  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

the  fact  that  milk  and  yolk  of  egg  are  rich  in  lime— a  substance 
all-important  for  the  healthy  growth  of  young  animals.  On 
the  other  hand  peas,  white  of  egg,  and  potatoes  are  poor  in 
lime,  but  they  hold  much  potash, — or  at  any  rate  combined 
potassium. 

But,  besides  these  inorganic  salts1,  organic  salts  and 
organic  compounds  having  some  mineral  constituent  must  be 
reckoned  with.  Experiment  and  observation  have  shown  that 
they  are  needful,  although  the  exact  share  taken  by  them  in 
the  chemical  changes  of  life  is  yet  undiscovered.  Thus,  iron 
is  indispensable  to  proper  nourishment,  and  it  is  most  readily 
absorbed  and  assimilated  in  such  complex  combination  as  we 
find  in  beef,  in  yolk  of  egg,  and  in  some  vegetables.  And 
many  fresh  fruits  are  rich  in  organic  acids  or  salts. 

In  a  certain  sense,  Water  must  be  separated  from  the 
foodstuffs  here  considered,  and  yet,  in  importance,  it  is  second 
to  none.  We  must  remember  that  the  constant  loss  of  sweat 
from  the  surface  of  the  body  is  the  evaporation  of  a  watery 
solution,  that  all  waste  matter  which  leaves  the  human  kidney 
is  in  watery  solution,  that  the  air  bearing  waste  matters  from 
the  lungs  is  loaded  with  watery  vapour,  and  that  water  is 
always  mixed  with  the  waste  from  the  intestine  (faeces) 
although  its  amount  varies.  Remembering  this,  we  shall  not 
wonder  that  water  must  be  taken  abundantly,  either  alone  or 
mixed  in  various  ways  with  food.  Some  facts  concerning  this 
admixture  we  shall  speak  of  later;  here  it  may  suffice  to 
remember  that  fluids  form  the  medium  of  all  chemical  inter- 
change, and  that,  to  water  falls  the  important  task  of  being  a 
first  essential  in  the  formation  of  such  media  in  the  human 
body. 

1  See  above,  §  u. 


CHAP,  vi.]  Foodstuffs.  73 

§  24.  TABLE  OF  FOODSTUFFS  MENTIONED  IN  THE  FORE- 
GOING PARAGRAPHS. 

Proteids 

contain  Carbon,  Nitrogen,  Oxygen,  Hydrogen,  and  Sulphur;  often 
Phosphorus.  Traces  of  salts  are  commonly  found  with  them. 

I.  Native  albumens.     Soluble  in  water,  solutions  coagulated 

by  heat. 

II.  Globulins.     Insoluble    in  water,   soluble    in    solutions    of 

neutral  salts,  such  as  sodium  chloride,  magnesium 
sulphate ;  solutions  coagulated  by  heat. 

III.  Casein.      Compound  proteid,  containing  a   substance   or 

residue  which  cannot  be  digested  in  the  stomach. 
Insoluble  in  water ;  soluble  in  dilute  saline  solu- 
tions and  dilute  alkalis ;  not  coagulated  by  heat. 

IV.  Albuminates.     Acid  and  alkali  albumen  ;  soluble  respec- 

tively in  dilute  acid  and  alkaline  solutions ;  solu- 
tions not  coagulated  by  heat. 

V.  Albumoses  and  Peptones.     Diffusible,  especially  the  peptones. 

Soluble  in  water;  solutions  not  coagulated  by  heat. 

VI.  Coagulated  proteids.     Produced  by  the  action  of  heat  on 

albumens  and  globulins.  Insoluble  in  water,  in 
salt  solutions,  in  dilute  solutions  of  acid  and  alkali. 
Soluble  in  gastric  juice  and  pancreatic  juice  and 
changed  by  these  fluids  to  albumoses  and  peptones. 

Of  these  groups  of  proteids  /,  //,  ///  are  found  in  the  living 
animals  or  in  their  secretions ;  IV  and  V  are  formed  in  the 
course  of  digestion  ;  VI  is  formed  artificially  by  heat  and  is  the 
most  insoluble  form  of  proteid. 

Carbohydrates 

contain  Carbon,  Hydrogen,  and  Oxygen,  the  two  latter  elements  being 
here  (and  in  a  few  substances  which  are  not  carbohydrates)  in  the  propor- 
tions in  which  they  exist  in  water. 


74  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

I.  Cellulose,  forms  the  cell-wall  or  protecting  membrane  of 

most  plant  cells.  Insoluble  in  all  the  digestive 
fluids  of  man ;  dissolved  and  changed  by  action  of 
certain  bacteria  and  by  certain  ferments  found  by 
plant  cells. 

II.  Starch.     Insoluble  in  cold  water;  swells  in  boiling  water 

to  form  mucilaginous  fluid  or  jelly ;  changed  by 
ferments  of  saliva  and  pancreatic  juice  to  dextrins 
and  sugar  (maltose). 

III.  Dextrin.     Soluble  in  cold  and  hot  water,  solution  clear. 

Dextrins  are  intermediate  bodies  formed  in  change 
of  starch  to  sugar.  Very  like  the  glycogen  of  the 
liver. 

IV.  Sugar.     Very  soluble  in   hot  and  cold  water;   solution 

clear  and  sweet.     Many  sugars  known ;    they  are 
found  plentifully  in   nature,   especially  in    plants. 
Carbohydrates   are  absorbed  as   sugar  from    alimentary 
canal. 

Fats 

contain    Carbon,    Hydrogen    and    Oxygen,    combined    and    arranged 
differently  from  the  carbohydrate  combinations. 

I.  Neutral  fats.     Insoluble  in  hot  and  cold  water ;  solid  at 

temperatures  which  vary  for  different  fats.  Form 
emulsion  (a  creamy  liquid)  when  broken  into 
minute  particles,  e.g.  by  alkali. 

II.  Fatty  acids.     Formed  by  splitting  up  of  neutral  fats  with 

separation  of  glycerine.  This  is  one  action  of 
digestion  in  small  intestine. 

III.  Soaps.     Formed  by  union  of  fatty  acids  with  some  base. 

Are  salts,  soluble  or  insoluble  according  to  nature 
of  base.  This  is  one  action  of  digestion  in  small 
intestine. 

Fats  are  absorbed  as  fatty  acids  and  as  soaps ;  possibly  as 
emulsified  neutral  fats. 


CHAP.  VI.]  Foodstuffs.  75 


The  action  of  Foodstuffs  in  nourishing  the  body. 

§  25.  We  have  thus  gained  some  idea  of  the  raw  materials 
which,  in  the  shape  of  food,  are  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
body  in  order  that  this  body  may  build  itself  up  and  repair 
waste.  And  we  may  now  go  a  step  further,  asking  the  ques- 
tion, "How  are  these  raw  materials  used  by  living  substance?" 
In  the  body,  as  we  have  seen,  proteids,  fats,  carbohydrates,  salts 
and  water  are  always  present ;  do  the  proteids  of  the  food  form 
the  body  proteids  ?  do  the  fats  of  food  give  rise  to  fats,  and  the 
carbohydrates  to  glycogen  or  some  sugar-like  substance?  To 
answer  this  question  fully  we  should  have  to  go  beyond  the 
limits  which  are  suitable  here  ;  we  must  be  content  (as  a  partial 
answer)  to  consider  what  is  indicated  by  the  chemical  constitu- 
tion of  the  foodstuffs,  and  to  name  some  of  the  results  of  long- 
continued  and  careful  experiments  in  physiology. 

From  a  chemical  point  of  view  fats  and  carbohydrates,  either 
alone  or  combined  with  each  other,  cannot  give  rise  to  proteid, 
for  they  are  without  the  element  nitrogen.  Proteids,  on  the 
other  hand,  hold  all  the  elements  which  fats  and  carbohydrates 
contain ;  therefore  they  can,  so  far  as  their  actual  elementary 
composition  is  concerned,  act  as  the  source  of  both  these  simpler 
compounds. 

The  results  of  experiments  support  the  conclusions  which 
these  facts  lead  us  to  draw. 

(a)  In  the  first  place,  it  is  found  that  proteid  foodstuffs 
can  give  rise  within  the  body  to  proteids,  carbohydrates  and 
fats.  It  is  easy  to  believe  that  the  nitrogen  of  the  body- 
proteids  is  derived  from  the  nitrogen  of  proteid  food,  but  it 
has  been  shown  also  that,  on  proteid  diet,  there  may  be  storage 
of  the  starch-like  glycogen  of  the  liver  and  also  formation  of 
fat.  A  good  illustration  of  the  last-named  action  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  a  mother,  nursing  her  child,  gives  milk  richer 


76  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

in  cream — which  is  mainly  fat — when  she  is  supplied  with 
abundance  of  proteid  in  her  food.  And  in  certain  forms  of 
the  disease  diabetes,  in  which  sugar  is  excreted  in  large 
quantities  by  the  urine,  it  has  been  shown  that  this  sugar  must 
be  derived  from  the  breaking  down  of  some  nitrogenous 
substance. 

(b)  In  the  second  place,  it  is  found  that  an  animal  dies 
when  fed  on  fats  and  carbohydrates  without  proteids. 

But  carbohydrates  can  and  do  give  rise  to  fat  in  the 
body,  and  we  are  familiar  with  the  change  in  daily  life.  For 
potatoes  (because  of  the  large  quantities  of  starch  they  contain) 
are  one  of  the  first  articles  forbidden  by  a  doctor  to  a  patient 
who  is  too  fat ;  and  again,  bees  form  abundant  fat  (wax)  from 
food  which  is  chiefly  sugar. 

It  has  not  been  clearly  shown  that  food-fats  give  rise  to 
body-carbohydrates ;  it  is  proved  that  the  fat  of  food  under- 
goes or  may  undergo  a  change  to  form  some  different  fat 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  tissues  of  the  animal  consuming 
it.  Thus,  in  ordinary  farm  feeding,  the  fat  of  oil-cake  does 
not  reappear  in  the  milk  and  the  tissues  of  the  cattle  fed  upon 
it ;  and  the  fat  of  a  man  is  unlike  the  fat  of  a  dog,  even  when 
both  are  fed  upon  the  same  fatty  food. 

§  26.  In  shaping  a  diet  which  involves  determination  of 
quantities,  there  are  other  important  experimental  results  to 
be  considered  besides  the  mere  chemical  changes  which  are 
possible  to  foodstuffs. 

(a)  In  the  first  place,  a  diet  in  which  proteids  are 
used  to  the  exclusion  of  fats  and  carbohydrates,  is  a 
most  extravagant  diet  from  the  physiological  point 
of  view.  A  certain  amount  of  carbon  is  demanded  by  the 
body  daily  to  make  good  the  daily  waste  of  this  element ;  in 
order  to  gain  this  from  proteids  alone,  so  much  must  be  eaten 
and  changed  chemically,  that  at  the  same  time  far  more 


CHAP,  vi.]  Foodstuffs.  77 

nitrogen  is  eaten  than  is  needed,  and  there  is  uncalled-for 
nitrogenous  waste,  which  may  even  be  accompanied  by  serious 
disturbance  of  health.  Further,  it  is  found  that  proteid  food 
makes  the  total  chemical  change  which  is  constantly 
going  on  in  a  man's  body  more  active;  we  might  almost 
say  the  living  substance  lives  faster.  This  is  sometimes  a  change 
for  the  better;  thus,  great  stoutness  may  be  due  to  sluggish 
chemical  processes  in  which  fat  is  formed  and  laid  down,  rather 
than  the  more  complex  protoplasmic  substance.  And  in  such 
cases  a  healthful  reduction  of  fat  may  be  brought  about  by 
abundant  proteid  in  the  diet,  as  in  the  system  known  as 
"Banting,"  or  as  in  the  more  modern  "Salisbury  treatment." 
But  if  there  is  not  this  unhealthy  stoutness ;  if  a  man  is  main- 
taining his  weight,  and  is  in  good  muscular  and  respiratory 
condition,  then  increase  of  the  total  chemical  changes  of  his 
body  (increased  metabolism)  is  harmful  rather  than  a 
benefit. 

(b)  In  the  second  place,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  fats  and  carbohydrates  are  invaluable  as 
subsidiaries  in  the  chemical  changes  of  the  tissues, 
although  they  cannot  play  the  part  of  principals.  They  are  rich 
in  carbon,  and  we  remember  how  much  the  daily  waste  matters 
of  the  body  are  carbon-holding.  A  tissue  so  characteristically 
nitrogenous  as  are  the  voluntary  muscles,  has  abundant  non- 
nitrogenous  waste-products  (carbonic  acid,  lactic  acid,  water}, 
and  it  is  these  which  are  notably  increased  when  a  muscle 
works  hard. 

Further,  the  non-nitrogenous  foodstuffs  have  this  property, 
that  they  check  or  lessen  the  chemical  changes  in 
proteids:  in  other  words,  they  spare  nitrogenous  waste;  the 
tissues,  we  may  say,  live  more  slowly.  And  this  in  times  of 
health  is  a  valuable  economy.  Sometimes  indeed  the  life  of 
the  tissues  is  already  too  sluggish,  for  example,  in  such  dis- 
ordered conditions  of  the  body  (referred  to  above)  as  lead  to 


78  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

excessive  stoutness.  To  give  a  diet  of  fats  and  carbohydrates 
here  would  be  most  unsuitable;  the  foodstuffs  which  are 
needed  are  such  as  will  excite  thorough  chemical  change,  so 
that  the  substance  of  the  cells  makes  itself  (i.e.  protoplasm) 
out  of  the  raw  material  offered,  and  does  not  halt  at  any  "  half- 
way house  "  of  fat-formation. 

But  on  the  whole,  although,  in  the  history  of  animals,  the 
first  digestion  was  probably  proteid,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  a  diet  in  which  nitrogenous  and  non-nitrogenous 
foodstuffs  are  mixed  is  the  "happy  mean"  physiologi- 
cally for  man.  When  it  is  given,  the  digestive  juices  are 
taxed  in  fair  proportion,  the  ferments  acting  upon  starches, 
proteids,  and  fats,  all  having  materials  on  which  they  can  act : 
at  the  same  time,  no  excretory  organs  are  taxed  unduly. 
Under  certain  conditions  it  may  be  most  desirable  to  let  one 
substance  or  another  come  to  the  front  in  diet,  either  because 
one  digestive  organ  is  weak,  or  because  the  chemical  changes 
of  the  whole  body  (and  we  must  remember  that  to  these 
changes  the  formation  and  maintenance  of  the  different  tissues 
is  due)  have  run  riot  in  some  way  and  need  the  checking 
which  unusual  food  can  bring  about.  And  infancy,  extreme 
old  age,  and  sickness  all  need  special  arrangements  of  food ; 
it  must  be  remembered  that  here  we  are  intentionally 
leaving  aside  these  states,  and  dealing  only  with  the  healthy 
adult. 

In  speaking  of  the  role  of  non-nitrogenous  foodstuffs  we 
have  not  discriminated  between  the  fats  and  carbohydrates, 
and  it  may  be  asked,  "Is  it  a  matter  of  indifference  whether 
either  or  both  be  introduced  into  diet?"  Within  limits,  they 
can  replace  each  other,  and  each  has  its  special  drawbacks  and 
advantages.  A  given  weight  of  fats  is  more  useful  to  the 
body, — can  be  used  more  economically  in  its  chemical  changes 
than  can  the  same  weight  of  carbohydrates;  on  the  other  hand, 
fats  are  somewhat  difficult  of  digestion.  Carbohydrates  are 


CHAP,  vi.]  Foodstuffs.  79 

easier  to  digest  and  they  are  cheaper,  commercially.  We  must 
probably  look  upon  the  most  satisfactory  diet  as  that  which 
contains  a  mixture  of  the  two. 


§  27.  The  question  of  the  exact  fate  of  the  salts  and 
water  of  diet  is,  in  some  ways,  more  difficult  than  that  we 
have  just  been  considering ;  it  is  indeed  too  difficult  for  long 
discussion  here.  But  one  or  two  points  may  be  borne  in  mind. 

(a)  In  the  first  place  we  must  realize  that  all  the  tissues 
of  the  body  are  wet;   that  is  to  say,  that  water  is  present  in 
varying   amounts,  but   generally  forming  about  three-quarters 
of  the  total  weight  of  the  tissue. 

(b)  In  the  second  place  all  foods  contain  water.     That 
this  varies,  and  how  it  varies,  we  shall  see  in  succeeding  para- 
graphs, but  we  may  mention  here  that  in  what  is  called  dry 
oatmeal,  15  parts  out  of  100  are  water,  and  that  8  parts  in  100 
are  found  in  butter — a  food  which  seems  almost  purely  fatty. 
As  we  might  expect,  the  water  present  in  raw  meat  is  more 
abundant:   in  lean  beef  there  are  about  74  parts  in   100;    in 
white  fish  78  in   100  parts. 

But,  apart  from  this  water,  taken  half  unconsciously  with 
food,  much  is  drunk  as  hot  or  cold  water,  and  in  various  made 
beverages.  This  has  itnportant  special  action.  It  calls  forth 
peristaltic  movements  of  the  intestines  (i.e.  the  move- 
ments which  shift  the  contents  of  the  bowel  and  pass  undi- 
gested matters  towards  the  lower  opening)  and  thus  helps 
digestion,  while  it  checks  constipation.  It  also  acts  as  what  is 
known  as  a  diuretic,  bringing  about  more  vigorous  action  of 
the  kidney,  and  greater  flow  of  urine,  and  so  helping  the 
discharge  of  important  waste  matter.  Probably  the  intestinal 
movements  are  quickened  more  by  cold  water  than  by  hot 
water  or  tea, — almost  any  hot  drink  has  the  diuretic  property— 
and  such  hot  fluids  also  tend  to  the  formation  of  sweat.  We 


8o  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

know  that  the  temperature  of  a  healthy  man  remains  fairly 
constant,  and  further  that  all  the  small  blood  vessels  of  his 
body  are  in  more  or  less  close  connection  by  means  of  delicate 
nerves.  When  much  hot  fluid  is  introduced  into  the  body 
there  is  (through  the  action  of  these  nerves)  a  flushing  of  the 
blood  vessels  of  the  skin — so  that  hurtful  rise  of  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  body  generally  is  avoided — and  with  this  flushing 
there  may  be  marked  outpouring  of  sweat,  and  thus  further 
increase  in  the  discharge  of  waste  matter,  and  further  reduction 
of  temperature  by  evaporation. 

The  action  of  saline  drinks  is  aperient ;  it  has  been 
mentioned  above,  §  20. 

Of  the  salts  we  may  say  briefly  that,  as  all  tissues  of  the 
body,  when  analysed,  show  saline  matter  among  their  ingre- 
dients, so  we  can  hardly  find  the  article  of  food  which  is 
absolutely  salt-free.  But  there  are  certain  parts  of  the  body 
where  the  presence  of  salts  is  very  marked  and  of  great  import- 
ance,—  we  may  instance  all  bony  matter,  and  the  red  colouring 
matter  of  the  blood,  which  is  indeed  an  organic  compound,  but 
is  iron-holding.  And  to  meet  the  special  needs  of  such  tissues, 
pressing  above  all  times  during  growth,  there  must  be  choice 
of  special  food  in  which  the  suitable  salts  or  elements  abound. 
Thus  a  large  part  of  the  saline  matter  which  makes  bones 
strong  and  rigid  is  phosphate  oj  lime,  and  milk  is  distinguished 
by  its  richness  in  lime ;  it  is  on  this  account,  among  others  pre- 
eminently the  food  for  the  very  young. 

§  28.  There  are  two  substances  which  have  been  merely 
mentioned  in  the  foregoing  pages,  and  upon  which  we  should 
yet  dwell  briefly,  as  they  are  very  commonly  present  in  articles 
of  food.  The  one  is  Gelatine,  a  body  not  truly  a  proteid,  but 
yet  allied  to  proteid,  and  nitrogen-holding ;  the  other  is  Cellu- 
lose, a  member  of  the  groups  of  carbohydrates. 


CHAP.  VI.]  Foodstuffs.  8 1 

Gelatine  in  Food. 

In  its  extracted  form,  extracted  for  example  from  calves' 
feet,  or  prepared  commercially  from  other  animal  substances, 
Gelatine  is  familiar  to  most  housewives;  as  are  its  properties 
of  setting  to  a  jelly  in  the  cold,  of  becoming  liquid  when 
warmed,  and  of  remaining  uncoagulated  when  greatly  heated. 
It  may,  by  boiling,  be  extracted  from  all  connective  tissue,  from 
bone,  and  from  cartilage ;  the  veal-stock  or  beef-tea  which 
"  sets  "  on  cooling  has  been  prepared  from  meat  rich  in  con- 
nective tissue  (tendon  or  sineiv)  or  from  young  bone,  and  it  is 
the  gristly  or  cartilaginous  character  of  the  calves'  feet  which 
makes  them  a  rich  source  of  gelatine.  What  is  the  value  of 
this  gelatine  in  diet  ?  Is  it  a  true  food  ? 

Gelatine  cannot  act  as  a  proteid ;  it  cannot  build  up  tissue ; 
indeed  an  animal  which  received  all  its  nitrogen  in  the  form  of 
gelatine  would  first  draw  upon  its  own  nitrogenous  tissues,  and 
would  presently  die.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  a  distinct 
value  as  an  economiser  of  proteid.  We  have  said  above  that  the 
non-nitrogenous  foodstuffs  act  as  "sparers"  of  the  chemical 
changes  in  proteid ;  the  action  of  gelatine  is  like  theirs,  but 
more  powerful,  so  that  an  animal  will  thrive  on  a  diet  which 
does  not  hold  much  proteid,  when  gelatine  is  eaten  at  the  same 
time,  although  the  proteid  cannot  be  removed  altogether. 

Besides  having  this  direct  value,  gelatine  is  often  the  means 
through  which  some  food  or  stimulant  is  given ; — food  such  as 
meat-juice,  fruit-juice,  sugar,  or  cream; — stimulant  such  as 
brandy  or  wine,  or  extractives  of  meat. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  pleasant  accompaniment  to 
solid  food  in  various  preparations  of  aspic. 

Cellulose  in  Food. 

We  know  that,  in  the  human  alimentary  canal,  starch  is 

turned  to  sugar  by  ferment   action.     A  ferment  having  this 

power  is  formed  by  the  cells  of  the  salivary  glands  and  then 

poured  into  the  mouth,  and  a  similar  ferment  is  formed  by  the 

B.  6 


82  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

cells  of  the  pancreas,  whence  it  reaches  the  intestine.  This 
ferment  has  no  power  on  the  more  insoluble  carbohydrate, 
cellulose ;  indeed  there  is  no  ferment  formed  by  the  gland-cells 
of  man  which  can  dissolve  it.  Yet  cellulose  is  largely  eaten 
by  man.  All  vegetable  cells,  all  fruit  cells  are  clothed  by 
cellulose  or  by  some  substance  allied  to  it  or  derived  from  it, 
which  may  be  even  more  difficult  to  dissolve.  Its  fate  then 
is  a  matter  of  interest ;  is  it,  we  may  ask,  useless  matter — the 
inevitable  but  inconvenient  load  of  true  food  ? 

(a)  This  question  can  be  answered  in  the  negative.  In 
the  first  place  some  living  matter  is  capable  of  forming  a 
ferment  which  acts  upon  cellulose — the  living  matter  of  certain 
plant  cells.  The  living  matter  of  certain  bacteria,  either  by 
means  of  a  ferment,  or  directly,  also  has  this  solvent  power. 
Now  these  bacteria  are  found  in  the  intestines  of  probably  all 
mammals,  and  there  is  evidence  that  to  them  is  due  the  dis- 
appearance of  cellulose  which  certainly  does  take  place  in 
human  digestion.  This  disappearance  is  only  partial  at  the 
best,  and  varies  much  in  extent ;  the  products  of  solution  are 
not  simply  sugars  but  more  complex,  and,  it  is  safe  to  say,  less 
nutritious;  still  it  must  be  remembered  that  not  all  the 
cellulose  eaten  is  cast  out  unchanged,  and  that  the 
agents  which  bring  about  change  in  a  part  of  it  are 
in  one  sense  foreign  inhabitants  of  the  intestine. 

(fr)  But  in  the  second  place  the  cellulose  which  is  not 
digested  has  a  use  which  is  probably  of  high  importance.  It 
stimulates  mechanically  the  walls  of  the  intestine,  helping  those 
wave-like  movements  which  we  have  learned  to  call  peristaltic, 
and  which  shift  the  food  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  exposed  to 
the  ferments  present  and  that,  when  its  nutritive  matter  is  used 
up,  it  may  be  passed  to  the  exterior.  The  intestines  of  animals 
who  feed  differently  have  different  characteristics :  thus,  flesh- 
eaters  have  a  notably  short  intestine ;  on  the  other  hand 
herbivora  (grass-eaters)  have  a  very  long  intestine,  and  to  them 


CHAP.  VL]  Foodstuffs.  83 

the  stimulus  of  cellulose  is  all-important.  Man,  intermediate 
in  the  character  of  his  food,  has  an  intestine  of  intermediate 
length,  but  the  removal  of  cellulose  from  his  diet  has  generally 
to  be  met  by  special  treatment.  It  is  well  known  that  in 
carrying  out  the  "  Salisbury "  cure  (in  which  one  aim  is  the 
digestion  of  proteid  food)  some  sort  of  aperient  is  often  used, 
and  equally  well  known  to  doctors  is  the  aperient  action  of 
brown  bread,  porridge,  and  other  foods  rich  in  "  indigestible  " 
cell  walls. 

We  have  just  said  that  many  plant  cells  do  form  a  ferment 
or  ferments  which  dissolve  cellulose.  These  ferments  do  not 
continue  their  action  after  such  cells  are  eaten  by  animals,  but 
before  this  point  they  have  in  some  cases  produced  an  effect 
which  has  especial  interest  for  the  cook.  The  term  pectine 
has  been  used  to  indicate  a  substance  or  substances  which 
may  be  yielded  by  ripe  fruits,  substances  which  in  hot  water 
are  liquid  (form  a  solution),  but,  in  the  cold,  set  to  a  jelly,  and 
which  form  the  ground-work  of  the  true  fruit  jellies  with 
which  we  are  familiar.  And  these  substances,  pectine  and  its 
near  allies,  probably  spring  from  change  in  the  very  insoluble 
carbohydrates  of  the  cell  walls  of  various  fruits.  The  change 
is  not  a  simple  one,  and  to  discuss  its  exact  nature  would  be 
out  of  place  here.  But  we  may  remember  that  while  the  gela- 
tine of  animal  tissues  is  nearly  allied  to  the  proteids,  the  bodies 
which  in  plants  most  resemble  it  physically  (i.e.  which  are 
liquid  in  the  warm  and  set  to  a  jelly  in  the  cold)  are  non- 
nitrogenous  derivatives  of  the  abundant  carbohydrates  of  the 
cell  walls,  and  are  derived  from  them,  when  the  conditions  are 
suitable,  by  special  ferment  action.  We  have  seen  that  gelatine 
is  of  real  value  in  itself  as  sparing  the  proteid  waste  in  the 
body ;  the  exact  value  of  pectine  has  not  been  found,  but  it  is 
very  probably  valuable  in  the  same  fashion  -  whatever  that 
may  be — as  are  salts  and  organic  acids.  Therefore,  in  thought, 
we  should  associate  it  with  them  physiologically,  rather  than 
with  the  proteids,  carbohydrates,  or  fats. 

6—2 


84  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

Summary. 

§  29.  It  may  be  helpful  to  gather  together  briefly  the  most 
important  points  which  have  been  dealt  with  in  the  foregoing 
paragraphs. 

(a)  We  have  seen  that  a  diet  of  non-nitrogenous  foodstuffs 
only   would  starve   the  body.     For  there   is   a    daily  waste   of 
nitrogen — a  loss  which  they  cannot  repair. 

(b)  On  the  other  hand  we  have  seen  that  proteid  foodstuffs 
can  be  used  as  the  sole  food  of  the  body,  repairing  both  nitrogenous 
and  non-nitrogenous  waste. 

(c)  But  lastly  we  have  seen  that  such  a  proteid  diet  would 
be  a  physiological  extravagance — a  waste  of  nitrogenous  material 
for  the  adult  who  is  healthy — a  regime  often  accompanied  by 
injurious  consequences. 

(d)  Thus  we  are  led  to  regard  as  best  for  such  an  adult 
a   mixed   diet,  a  diet  which   is,  moreover,  never  destitute  of 
salts   and  of  water,   and  has   its  due  proportion  of  insoluble 
material  such  as  cellulose  and  woody  fibre. 

§  30.  The  question  which  naturally  follows  on  these  con- 
clusions is  this  :  "  How  do  we  gain  such  a  diet  from  the  foods 
at  our  disposal  ?  What  foodstuffs  belong  to  various  articles  of 
diet  ?  "  The  answer  to  this  question  forms  the  subject  of  the 
next  chapter.  But  before  turning  to  deal  with  it  we  may  say  a 
word  upon  one  of  the  most  widespread  misapprehensions  which 
is  betrayed  by  students  of  elementary  dietetics.  This  is  the 
ready  use  of  the  terms  "  tissue-formers  "  and  "  heat-producers  " 
to  indicate  respectively  proteids  on  the  one  hand,  and  fats 
with  carbohydrates  on  the  other. 

How  are  tissues  formed  in  the  body  ?  They  are  formed  by 
their  own  activity  from  food  ;  and  this  food,  while  it  is  neces- 
sarily proteid,  is  faulty  unless  it  contains  carbohydrates  and 
fats  as  well.  Moreover  the  waste  of  muscles  is  very  largely 


CHAP.  VI.]  Foodstuffs.  85 

non-nitrogenous  and,  we  may  infer,  so  is  the  waste  of  other 
tissues  which  are  less  readily  examined.  Nitrogenous  waste 
does  always  occur,  but  it  would  seem  to  be  spared  by 
supplies  of  non-nitrogenous  food ;  and  when  muscles  work 
especially  hard  the  nitrogenous  waste  is  very  little  in- 
creased, but  there  is  much  greater  discharge  of  water, 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  of  sarcolactic  acid. 

Hoiv  is  heat  produced  in  the  body  ?  Briefly,  by  any  kind  of 
metabolism  or  chemical  change.  But  the  active  seats  of  chemi- 
cal change  are  the  tissues,  and  the  tissues  are  protoplasmic,  i.e. 
nitrogenous.  And  protoplasm  cannot  be  built  up  without 
proteids,  though  fats  and  carbohydrates  may  be  most  important 
aids.  Metabolic  action,  chemical  change,  is  nowhere  more 
active  than  in  the  muscles,  the  glands,  the  nervous  tissues  of 
the  body.  We  cannot  separate  from  them  our  conception  of 
the  physiological  heat  producers ;  we  cannot  separate  their 
existence  and  well-being  from  the  taking  in  of  proteid  food. 

These  statements  are  brief  and  apparently  dogmatic,  but 
almost  every  one  could  be  supported  by  evidence  drawn  from 
the  careful  work  of  many  physiologists.  They  may  just  indi- 
cate (and  more  than  this  they  cannot  do)  the  complexity  which 
does  belong  to  the  nutrition  of  the  body ;  I  should  be  glad  to 
think  they  could  check  the  easy  use  of  half-understood  tech- 
nical expressions.  The  division  of  foods  into  tissue  formers 
and  heat  producers  had  a  meaning  to  the  great  physiological 
chemist  -  who  first  made  the  distinction ;  the  terms  have  a 
meaning  still  for  the  expert,  but  a  meaning  which  the  work  of 
recent  years  has  tended  to  make  more  complex  and  less  clear- 
cut.  And  it  would  be  a  great  gain  if  their  general  use  at  the 
hands  of  those  who  are  not  chemical  or  physiological  experts 
could  become  a  thing  of  the  past;  if  we  were  content  to 
describe  foodstuffs  in  terms  which  their  constitution  teaches 
us,  and  not  to  prejudge  the  hard  question  of  their  role  in  the 
chemistry  of  life. 


86  [PT.  I. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
The  Constituents  of  Food. 

§  31.  IN  the  last  chapter  we  learnt  that  certain  foodstuffs 
must  be  present  in  the  food  of  man  if  he  is  to  live  healthily; 
we  have  still  to  learn  how  food  may  be  chosen  intelligently. 
The  knowledge  which  should  help  in  this  choice  is  really  to 
be  gathered  from  the  information  we  have  already  acquired, 
together  with  further  facts  brought  out  in  the  following  chapter, 
for  we  must  know  in  the  first  place  how  the  different  foodstuffs 
are  distributed  among,  or  contained  in,  different  raw  articles  of 
food,  and  in  the  second  place  how  these  articles  of  food  are 
affected  by  cooking  or  by  other  preparation  for  the  table. 

Nevertheless  as  preliminary  to  both  these  divisions  of  the 
subject,  we  may  say  that  no  one  diet  can  be  described  as  a 
perfect  diet  for  mankind.  Bodies  of  similar  composition  have 
to  be  maintained  by  food  in  widely  different  regions  of  the 
world  and  under  different  conditions  of  wear  and  tear;  and, 
partly  from  choice,  partly  from  the  necessities  of  the  situation, 
the  diet  of  man  is  now  animal,  now  vegetable,  sometimes  taken 
in  the  raw  state,  more  often  prepared  for  eating  by  some 
process  of  cookery.  That  all  these  varieties  of  diet  are  of 
equal  value  we  cannot  pretend ;  their  economy  (in  a  physio- 
logical sense)  is  very  varying,  but  what  we  shall  see  is  that 
similar  combinations  of  foodstuffs  may  be  drawn  from 
different  sources.  It  may  be  urged  further  that  as  the  same 
food  is  not  appropriate  to  the  infancy,  the  manhood,  and  the 


CHAP.  VII.]          The  Constituents  of  Food.  87 

old  age  of  a  man,  so,  when  many  adult  men  are  gathered 
together  and  fed  upon  similar  daily  rations  these  rations  do  not 
meet  the  needs  of  each  individual  with  equal  success.  When 
a  group  of  persons  are  clothed  in  ready-made  clothing,  those 
persons  who  diverge  most  widely  from  the  mean  size  show 
a  misfit  most  clearly,  and,  in  the  same  way — though  the  fact  is 
less  readily  appreciable — there  must  be  many  "  misfits  "  in  a 
common  diet  such  as  that  of  a  prison,  of  an  army,  of  an 
orphanage,  or  of  a  ship.  These  diets  may  be  chosen  with 
great  care,  but  we  can  hardly  look  on  them  as  in  each  case  the 
best  for  each  of  the  many  individuals  who  share  them.  We 
would  not,  then,  prescribe  a  diet,  but  rather  give  the  data  from 
which  intelligent  individuals  may  shape  a  diet.  To  this  end 
we  will  here  consider  the  foodstuffs  in  order,  saying  something 
about  the  various  foods  in  which  they  are  found  and  the 
condition  in  which  they  are  found.  For  like  constituents  are 
present  in  different  parts  of  plants  and  animals  in  different 
proportions;  liver  and  kidney,  for  example,  are  unlike  fat 
bacon;  the  seed  of  a  pea  is  unlike  the  pod  or  the  leaf;  and, 
while  milk  is  the  source  of  cheese  and  butter,  it  differs  widely 
from  both  in  food  contents. 


88  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

PROTEIDS. 
A.     Proteids  in  animal  substances. 

§  32.  We  will  take  as  a  point  of  departure  a  well-known 
proteid-holding  animal  food,  namely  lean  beef,  and  consider  its 
composition.  It  is,  as  we  know,  the  flesh  (that  is,  the  muscles) 
of  the  ox,  made  up  of  bundles  of  muscular  fibres  of  the  variety 
known  as  striated,  and  each  of  these  fibres  possesses  its  own 
protoplasmic  substance  and  nuclei,  and  is  bounded  by  a 
delicate  sheath  of  somewhat  different  composition.  The 
separate  muscular  fibres,  and,  again,  the  bundles  of  these  fibres, 
are  held  together  by  connective  tissue  which  has  no  power  of 
contraction ;  this  tissue  varies  in  amount, — thus  rump-steak 
has  very  little  of  it,  but  all  sinewy  meat  has  much.  Running 
in  the  connective  tissue  are  the  blood  vessels  and  nerves  of 
the  muscle,  abundant  in  number  but  not  important  in  bulk ; 
and  we  must  not  forget  that  much  blood  with  lymph  is  still 
clinging  to  the  muscular  fibres,  although  much  has  been  lost 
in  the  process  of  "cutting  up"  the  ox.  When  fat  is  present 
it  is  stored  between  the  fibres  of  muscle  and  in  the  con- 
nective tissue,  but  for  the  moment  we  are  considering  lean  beef. 

With  this  characteristic  structure  we  find  a  certain  charac- 
teristic chemical  constitution  bound  up  : 

(a)  About  75  parts  by  weight  in  100  parts  of  uncooked 
beef  are  water. 

(b)  About   20  parts  by  weight  are  made  up  of  nitro- 
genous substance.     This,   though    nearly   all    proteid,    is    not 
pure   proteid;    it   includes   the    connective   tissue,    of    which 
mention  has  been  made,  and  which,  on  heating  in  moist  heat, 
yields  gelatine-,    it   includes   also    certain    nitrogenous   bodies 
which  probably  spring  from  chemical  changes  in  the  proteids 
and  are  sometimes  spoken  of  collectively  as   nitrogenous  ex- 
tractives. 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  89 

When  we  examine  the  composition  of  human  muscle  carefully  we 
find  that  it  is  as  follows.  In  100  parts  there  are  : 

Water 73-5  parts. 

Proteids        .                  18-02       ,, 

Gelatine 1-99       ,, 

Extractives  nitrogenous  and  non-nitrogenous  '22       ,, 

Inorganic  salts 3' 12       ,, 

Fat 2-27       ,, 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  error  introduced  by  grouping  the  gelatine  and 
nitrogenous  extractives  with  the  proteids  proper,  is  not  great.  And  we 
shall  group  them  thus  in  the  analyses  of  foods  which  follow,  unless  special 
statements  to  the  contrary  are  made. 

(c]  The  most  important  proteids  in  beef  belong  to  the 
group  of  the  globulins.     It  will  be  remembered  then  that  they 
do   not  dissolve  in  pure  water,  but  that  they  do  dissolve  in 
solutions  of  neutral  salts  (e.g.   common   salt),   and   also    that 
they   coagulate   or   become    more   insoluble    (indigestible)    on 
heating  (§23). 

(d)  Salts  are  present,  between  i  p.  c.  and  2  p.  c. 

It  has  been  found  that  lean  beef,  eaten  raw,  is  digested  in 
about  2  hours,  and  the  digestion  of  its  proteids  is  almost  com- 
plete. Complete  digestion  is  hardly  known  in  the  alimentary 
canal  of  man,  but,  in  the  case  of  raw  beef,  only  2\  parts  by 
weight  in  100  are  passed  from  the  bowel  unabsorbed. 

Cooked  beef  is  digested  less  quickly,  needing  from  2\  to 
4  hours,  but  the  residue  need  hardly  be  greater  than  with  the 
raw  substance. 

Briefly,  beef  must  be  looked  upon  as  very  nutritious  and 
very  digestible ;  it  ranks  high  among  proteid-holding  foods. 
Eating  it,  we  eat  proteids  which  are  for  the  most  part  made 
insoluble  by  heat,  and  which  in  the  natural  state  do  not 
dissolve  in  water  but  do  dissolve  in  solutions  of  salts.  Further, 
they  are  proteids  which,  in  the  beef,  are  associated  or  bound 
up  with  water  and  with  very  small  amounts  of  salts. 


90  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

'  §  33.  These  characters  are  possessed  not  by  beef  alone 
but  by  the  muscular  substance  of  great  numbers  of  animals, 
and  it  is  on  this  ground  that  we  eat  animal  flesh  so  largely. 
Butcher's  meat,  poultry,  game,  fish,  Crustacea  (crabs,  lobsters, 
prawns,  etc.),  molluscs  (oysters,  mussels,  etc.)  are  different  in 
small  points  from  each  other  and  from  beef,  different  in  the 
exact  amount  of  water  and  proteids  they  contain,  different  now 
and  then  in  the  character  of  their  proteids.  But,  in  all,  the 
water  present  amounts  to  between  70  and  80  parts  p.  c.,  the 
proteids  to 'from  about  18  to  22  parts  p.  c.,  and  among  these 
proteids  globulins  are  found.  The  same  may  be  said  of  heart- 
muscle  and  of  tripe  (stomacti),  in  both  of  which  the  muscular 
fibres  lack  the  delicate  sheath  which  the  fibres  of  voluntary 
muscle  possess ;  and  the  tongue  is  another  highly  muscular 
article  of  diet  in  which  the  fibres  (of  the  voluntary  or  striated 
type)  are  arranged  in  a  curiously  rectangular  network  which  is, 
probably  because  of  its  arrangement,  easy  of  access  by  the 
digestive  fluids. 

We  are  also  in  the  habit  of  eating  certain  other  organs  of 
the  animal  body,  chiefly  certain  of  the  glands :  among  these 
are  the  lirer  and  kidney,  the  thymus  and  pancreas  (known  as 
sweetbreads) ;  while  the  brain,  though  hardly  a  staple  article  of 
diet,  is  well  known  as  occasional  food.  These  are  all  non- 
muscular,  but  they  are  all  distinctively  nitrogenous — holding 
proteids,  extractives  and  sometimes  gelatine,  and  holding 
70  to  80  parts  by  weight  of  water  in  100  parts.  Among  the 
proteids,  globulins  are  always  found,  and  often  a  com- 
pound proteid  is  present  such  as  was  described  in 
§  23.  Of  these  organs  the  kidney,  with  its  dense  structure,  is 
perhaps  the  least  easy  to  digest,  unless  its  preparation  for  the 
table  is  carefully  carried  out ;  the  liver  and  brain  are  more 
friable,  more  readily  broken  up,  and  in  the  pancreas  a  certain 
preparation  for  digestion  may  be  bound  up  with  traces  of 
pancreatic  juice  (which  moistens  it),  until  the  ferment  is 
destroyed  by  cooking. 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  91 

It  is  probable  that,  similarly,  residues  of  digestive  fluid 
increase  the  digestibility  of  those  animals  which,  although 
eaten  partly  for  their  muscle,  also  contain  a  large  and  complex 
digestive  gland.  Such  a  gland  is  the  so-called  "liver"  of  the 
crab,  in  which  however  at  the  moment  of  eating  the  digestive 
ferments  have  been  killed  by  cookery;  such  too  is  the  "liver" 
of  molluscs,  so  that  we  can  understand  the  superior  digestibility 
of  uncooked  oysters. 

§  34.  We  may  now  contrast  with  the  lean  beef,  which 
formed  our  starting  point  in  the  consideration  of  animal  foods 
rich  in  proteid,  certain  foods  which  are  the  natural  products  of 
animal  life  or  are  prepared  artificially — and  in  this  comparison 
we  shall  regard  only  the  amount  and  characters  of  the  proteids 
present. 

Of  such  foods,  none  is  more  familiar  than  milk.  Milk 
varies  a  little  in  composition,  according  to  the  pasturing  and 
condition  of  the  cow,  or  other  animal,  from  which  it  is  drawn, 
but  it  is  always  more  watery  than  beef  (87  parts  in  100  are 
water)  and  its  total  proteid  contents  do  not  generally  amount 
to  4  parts  in  100.  Further,  the  proteids  present  are  unlike 
those  of  beef;  we  do  not  find  globulins  (or  only  in  very 
small  amount);  the  coagulable  proteid  of  milk  is  an 
albumen  (soluble  in  water,  and  becoming  changed  by  heat) 
while  the  proteid  casein — more  abundant  in  milk  than  albumen 
—belongs  to  the  class  of  compound  proteids  which  have 
been  named  above,  and  which  may  be  described  as 
especially  rich  in  phosphorus.  Casein  is  not  made  more 
insoluble  by  heat,  but  it  is  changed  by  the  rennet  ferment 
contained  in  the  digestive  fluid  of  the  stomach,  and  "  sets,"  or 
forms  a  clot  which  action  of  the  pepsin  dissolves.  This 
clot,  imprisoning  the  minute  fat  globules  of  milk,  turns  any 
quantity  of  milk  in  which  it  is  found  into  an  opaque  jelly 
familiar  to  us  as  curd;  and  thus  recalls  the  action  of  fibrin 
when  it  binds  the  red  and  white  corpuscles  into  a  jelly-like 
blood-clot. 


92  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

This  peculiar  action  of  the  digestive  fluid  of  the  stomach 
upon  milk  lies  at  the  root  of  all  cheese-making,  and  we 
may  look  upon  cheese  as  the  rennet-clot  of  milk,  condensed 
by  drying  under  pressure,  and  changed  by  the  action  of 
certain  bacteria  (compare  above,  §  3),  and  by  the  addition  of 
flavourings  and  colouring-matter.  This  condensation  gives  a 
richly  proteid  food,  one  that  contains  about  30  parts  by  weight 
of  proteid  in  100,  while  in  100  parts  only  34  are  water;  it  is, 
however,  a  food  which,  as  we  shall  see,  is  not  highly  digestible, 
although  it  is  highly  nutritive. 

When  the  clot  of  milk,  which  is  destined  to  form  cheese, 
shrinks  or  is  crushed,  the  liquid  squeezed  out  from  it  is  known 
as  whey.  Whey  holds  much  of  the  coagulable  proteid  of  milk 
(but  not  the  more  important  casein),  together  with  the  milk- 
sugar  and  milk-salts.  But  another  artificial  splitting  up  of  milk 
has  been  carried  out  in  late  years,  and  carried  out  in  such 
fashion  that  the  fat  and  sugar  on  the  one  hand  are  separated 
from  all  the  proteids  on  the  other.  Thus  a  flour-like  patent 
food,  the  Prottne  of  commerce,  has  been  prepared ;  a  food 
which,  it  is  claimed,  supplies  to  those  who  eat  it  a  very  high 
percentage  of  proteid  substance  in  a  digestible  form.  It  is 
stated  that  in  100  parts  by  weight  of  protene  80  parts  of 
proteid  are  found ;  it  will  be  seen  then,  that  even  mixed  with 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  water,  or  with  wheat  flour,  or  gelatine, 
for  purposes  of  cooking,  it  yields  articles  of  diet  which  are 
unusually  rich  in  nitrogen-holding  matter. 

We  may  look  upon  milk  as  a  secretion  of  the  animal  body 
intended  mainly  to  nourish  young  animals  who  are  too  helpless 
to  find  food  for  themselves.  In  eggs  we  find,  not  indeed  the 
same  consistency,  not  quite  the  same  substances,  but  yet 
substances  which  are  highly  nourishing  and  which  are  used 
by  immature  (i.e.  very  young)  animals  during  their  growth. 
All  eggs  have  to  subserve  this  end,  but  it  will  be  understood 
that  they  vary  much  in  size  and  in  structure ;  thus,  caviare,  the 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  93 

roe  of  the  sturgeon,  is  made  up  of  multitudes  of  clustering  eggs  : 
and  this  is  true  of  the  hard  roe  of  all  fishes,  however  different 
in  appearance  and  flavour.  In  using  the  word  egg,  however, 
we  think  naturally  of  the  eggs  of  birds,  and  especially  of  the 
hen's  egg,  many  millions  of  which  are  used  daily  in  England. 
Taking  this  familiar  egg  as  an  example,  we  may  say  that  in 
eggs  there  is  less  intermixture  of  foods  than  in  milk  (thus, 
no  sugar  is  found),  but  nitrogenous  matter  is  abundant.  In 
the  white  of  a  hen's  egg  about  13  parts  by  weight  in  100  are 
proteid  and  about  84  parts  are  water;  in  the  same  weight  of 
egg-yolk  there  are  16  parts  by  weight  of  proteid  and  about  50 
of  water.  The  proteid  matter  of  fresh  eggs  is  different  in  nature 
according  as  the  yolk  or  the  white  is  examined ;  in  the  former, 
there  are  globulins  much  resembling  the  main  proteids  of  lean 
beef;  in  the  latter,  albumens  (dissolving  in  water  as  well  as 
in  salt  solutions)  are  present.  Both  these  classes  of  proteids, 
it  will  be  remembered,  are  greatly  changed  by  the  action  of 
heat,  and  we  shall  see  later  that  hardly  any  article  of  diet  is 
more  affected  by  different  methods  of  cooking  than  is  the  egg. 

In  all  animals  except  those  which  are  very  simple — certainly 
in  those  which  form  staple  articles  of  human  food — blood  is 
present,  and  must  be  looked  on  as  a  fluid  rich  in  proteids,  and 
formed  by  the  cells  of  the  body.  The  blood  of  the  ox  holds 
more  than  7  parts  of  proteids  in  100  parts,  these  proteids 
belonging  to  the  familiar,  coagulable  groups  of  the  globulins 
and  albumens.  To  the  majority  of  Englishmen  however  all 
articles  of  diet  prepared  principally  from  blood  are  distasteful ; 
black  pudding  or  "  Blutwurst"  is  largely  eaten  in  Germany,  and 
its  main  constituent  is  pigs'  blood. 

§  35.  The  articles  of  diet  of  which  we  have  thus  spoken 
briefly,  form  certainly  a  heterogeneous  group,  and  we  shall  see 
later  that  the  value  of  each  member  of  the  group  is  much 
affected  by  its  preparation  for  eating.  But,  assuming  for  the 


94  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

moment  that  all  receive  the  same  treatment,  or  that  all  are 
eaten  raw,  it  is  interesting  to  notice  some  of  the  points  of 
difference  between  them,  as  on  the  other  hand  we  have  noticed 
the  presence  of  proteids — their  point  of  likeness. 

(a)  In  the  first  place  we  notice  a  very  varying  admixture 
of  the  other  foodstuffs  with  proteid  matter.     We  have  seen  that 
there    is    now    one    percentage    of   water   and    now   another 
(compare  above,  §  27),  and  examination  shows  that  the  salts 
present  vary,  but  within   narrower  limits.     In  butcher  s  meat, 
in  poultry   and  game,    we    may   fairly  say  that    slightly  over 
i    per   cent,    of  saline    matter   is    present;    taking   this  as  a 
standard,  we  may  add  that  in  tripe  and  in  milk  the  percentage 
is  rather  low   (although  the   importance  of  the  lime-salts   in 
milk  is  great),  while  the  percentage  is  somewhat  high  in  fish 
and  in  molluscs  (oyster).     In  cheese,  saline  matter  is  abundant. 

But  the  admixture  with  carbohydrates  and  fats  varies 
still  more.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  daily  diet  of  a 
healthy  man  should  contain  100  grms.  (3^  ozs.)  of  protjid 
matter ;  if  we  suppose  for  a  moment  that  we  wish  to  gain  this 
quantity  of  proteid  from  the  one  description  of  food,  and 
choose  this  from  the  list  of  foodstuffs  named  above,  this 
variation  in  admixture  shows  very  clearly.  Thus,  in  eating 
100  grms.  proteid  from  white  of  egg,  we  need  eat  no  carbo- 
hydrates and  only  2  grms.  of  fat ;  if  the  source  of  the  proteid 
is  yolk  of  egg,  carbohydrates  are  absent  as  before,  but  the 
necessary  quantity  of  egg-yolk  contains  200  grms.  fats.  A 
quantity  of  lean  beef  yielding  100  grms.  proteids  holds  no 
carbohydrates,  and  may  hold  as  little  as  7  grms.  of  fats ;  from 
cow's  milk,  on  the  other  hand,  we  can  only  gain  100  grms. 
proteid  if  we  eat  107  grms.  fats  and  140  grms.  carbohydrates 
as  well. 

(b)  In  the  second  place,  there  are  differences  in  digesti- 
bility among  the  animal  substances  rich  in  proteid.     Sometimes 
differences  in  texture,  or  density,  make  it  easy  to  understand 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  95 

that  this  should  be  the  case :  thus  the  muscular  fibres  of  the 
heart,  although  they  are  naked  (i.e.  without  enclosing  mem- 
brane), are  packed  very  firmly  together,  and  so  are  the  cells  of 
which  the  kidney  is  made  up.  On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have 
said,  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  tongue  (which  have  enclosing 
membranes)  cross  each  other  loosely,  forming  a  right-angled 
network,  easy  of  digestion,  and  the  muscle  of  tripe  is  unstriped, 
i.e.  made  up  of  naked  cells,  relatively  small,  and  bound  up  into 
thin  sheets.  This  structure  and  arrangement  seem  to  be  in 
harmony  with  what  we  know  practically  of  the  ready  digesti- 
bility of  tripe,  and  in  the  case  of  this  tissue  it  is  probable  also 
that  the  cells  of  the  stomach  have  some  digestive  action  after 
the  animal  has  been  slaughtered,  but  before  the  ferment  they 
contain  is  killed  by  cooking.  Again,  the  substance  of  cheese 
is  very  dense,  and  it  is  easily  comprehensible  that  the  digestive 
juices  penetrate  it  with  difficulty,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
the  glairy  mass  which  we  know  as  raw  white  of  egg.  To  make 
cheese  more  digestible,  we  "grate"  it;  by  "frothing"  white  of 
egg,  or  beating  it  well  with  yolk,  the  same  end  is  reached. 

When  the  muscular  fibres  eaten  are  large,  or  buried  in 
much  tenacious  wrapping,  their  solution  may  be  difficult ;  and, 
when  fat  is  closely  mixed  with  proteid  matter,  two  kinds  of 
digestive  action  must  be  vigorous  (i.e.  the  digestion  of  proteid 
and  the  digestion  of  fat)  if  the  mixed  food  is  to  be  satisfactorily 
dissolved.  Probably  for  this  reason  some  "  rich  "  fish,  such  as 
the  salmon  (12  parts  of  fat  in  100  parts),  or  the  eel  (27  parts 
of  fat  in  100  parts)  are  less  digestible  than  the  whiting  or  the 
sole. 

There  are,  however,  differences  in  digestibility  which  can 
hardly  be  accounted  for  by  tangible  differences  in  the  com- 
position and  "  build  "  of  the  foods  concerned.  It  may  be  that 
such  differences  are  introduced  by  what  might  be  called  acci- 
dental mixture  of  "foreign"  substances  with  tissues  which  are 
eaten,  and  that  mixture  of  this  kind  is  responsible,  at  least  in 
part,  for  the  indigestion  which  sometimes  follows  the  eating  of 


96  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

crab  and  lobster.  But,  in  other  cases,  the  causes  of  difference 
are  more  subtle  still :  it  is  found  that  the  rates  of  digestion  of 
raw  beef  and  raw  mutton  are  practically  the  same ;  but  medical 
experience  has  pronounced  mutton  more  digestible  than  beef. 

(c]  Lastly,  we  must  remember  that,  individual  differences 
abound  in  the  eaters,  and  that  idiosyncrasy  defies  explanation. 
Experiments  have  shown  (as  we  saw  in  §  32)  that,  when  lean 
beef  is  eaten  by  a  healthy  human  being,  only  2\  parts  in  100  of 
proteids  are  rejected  from  the  bowel  unabsorbed,  and  we  may 
add  that  about  3  parts  per  cent,  are  thus  lost  from  the  proteids 
of  egg,  and  8  parts  per  cent,  from  the  proteids  of  milk.  But 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  figures  would  vary  much, 
were  the  human  beings  examined  to  be  increased  in  number. 
The  healthy  persons  who  cannot,  when  adult,  take  milk  or  eggs 
form  an  important  group,  and  cases  have  been  known  in  which 
there  was  (in  health)  inability  to  digest  the  flesh  of  poultry — a 
food  which  is  so  commonly  regarded  as  suitable  for  the  feeble 
digestion  of  the  convalescent. 


B.     Proteids  in  vegetable  substances. 

§  36.  It  is  a  popular  belief  that  proteids  belong  character- 
istically to  animal  substances,  and  carbohydrates  to  plants  and 
their  products.  And  the  composition  of  muscle  on  the  one 
hand,  and,  on  the  other,  the  poverty  of  animal  tissues  in 
carbohydrates  do  give  some  foundation  to  the  belief.  Never- 
theless it  is  a  belief  partly  founded  on  misapprehension.  From 
plants  alone,  any  animal  may  obtain  and  many  animals  do 
obtain  proteids  and  all  the  other  foodstuffs  necessary  for 
healthy  life. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment,  setting  aside  the  habits  and 
nutrition  of  parasites,  the  scheme  of  plant  life.  We  recognize 
in  the  familiar  green  plant  such  parts  as  are  commonly  her- 


CHAP,  vil.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  97 

baceous  ;  leaves,  young  shoots,  and  (in  a  somewhat  modified 
sense)  flowers.  These  are  regions  where  the  chemical  changes 
which  belong  to  life  are  especially  active,  but  they  are  regions 
which  for  their  well-being  are  closely  dependent  upon 
daily  food — upon  supplies  of  oxygen  and  carbonic  acid  from 
the  air,  upon  water,  and  saline  matters  drawn  from  the  soil. 
Cut  off  from  such  supplies,  they  wither  and,  speedily,  they  die. 
But  there  are  other  parts  of  plants  in  which  there  is  storing  up 
of  what  are  known  as  reserve  materials;  these  are  substances 
which  are  food  or  can  be  turned  into  food  independently  of 
daily  supplies  from  the  external  world,  and  they  serve  to 
support  young  plants  or  young  shoots  when  daily  food  is 
scanty  or  lacking.  This  storage  may  take  place  in  many 
different  organs  of  the  plant,  such  organs  being  usually  modified 
in  connection  with  it;  thus  the  potato  of  commerce  is  an 
altered  stem,  rich  in  foodstuffs ;  in  the  onion,  food  is  stored  in 
the  closely-wrapped  leaves  of  the  bulb  ;  while  in  the  parsnip,  the 
carrot,  and  the  beet  we  deal  with  roots.  But  the  plant-organ 
par  excellence  into  which  foodstuffs  are  stored  is  the  seed, 
and  this,  with  certain  wrappings  or  coats  of  very  various 
structure,  forms  the  fruit.  The  grains  of  wheat,  of  barley 
and  maize,  the  almond,  the  nutmeg,  the  cardamom,  the  date- 
stone — these  are  all  seeds,  seeds  which  have  within  them  such 
concentrated  materials  that  the  young  plant  may  draw  upon 
them  for  food  in  the  early  stages  of  its  growth ;  they  play  a 
part  much  like  that  played  by  the  foodstuffs  in  milk  and  animal 
eggs. 

Now  when  we  look  at  plants,  not  as  members  of  a  great 
group  of  living  beings,  J>ut  as  the  food  of  man,  we  realise  (and 
it  is  a  truth  often  forgotten)  that  every  living  vegetable  cell  that 
is  eaten  must  contain  some  amount  of  proteid\  for  nothing  can 
be  living  which  does  not  hold  some  protoplasmic  constituent 
however  slight,  and  proteids,  as  we  know,  form  the  basis  of 
protoplasm.  In  lettuce,  in  the  fruit  of  the  grape  or  the 
tomato,  in  the  leaf-stalk  of  rhubarb,  there  is  a  proteid  element, 


98  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

and,  when  these  succulent  parts  of  plants  are  eaten  raw,  it  is 
probable  that  the  proteid  matter  they  contain  is  especially 
soluble,  although  it  is  shielded  by  indigestible  cellulose  cell 
walls.  The  amount  present  is  very  small,  greater  in  young 
green  things  than  in  older  tissues  in  which  the  quantity  of 
water  has  increased  :  thus,  asparagus,  which  is  the  young  shoot 
and  tightly  packed  buds  of  the  plant,  holds  3  parts  of  nitro- 
genous matter  in  100  parts;  while  rhubarb,  which  is  an  adult 
stem,  has  hardly  i  part  in  100.  And  it  must  not  be  thought 
that  on  such  fresh,  green  substances  alone,  a  man  could  live 
healthily.  The  "  grass-eating  "  animals  form  a  large  group,  but 
their  teeth,  stomach  and  intestines  have  special  characters  and 
arrangement,  fitted  for  dealing  with  this  food.  Man  has  neither 
these  special  characters,  nor  those  which  belong  to  the  "  eaters 
of  flesh"  (e.g.  the  cat,  the  lion) ;  he  has  much  more  in  common 
with  the  apes  and  monkeys  who  are  fruit-eaters  by  nature.  It 
is  the  storage  organs  of  plants  that  must  be  eaten  if  nourish- 
ment from  vegetables  is  to  be  sufficient  for  man ;  and  it  is  in 
them  that,  as  reserve  materials,  the  proteid  substances  of  plants 
are  chiefly  found. 

Even  among  these  organs  great  differences  of  composition 
exist :  the  turnip,  the  carrot,  the  beet,  and  the  onion  are  all 
poor  in  proteids,  and  contain  much  water — the  turnip  92  parts, 
the  onion  91  parts,  the  carrot  89  parts,  the  beet  82  parts,  all  in 
100  parts  of  substance — even  the  potato,  although  more  sub- 
stantial than  they,  has  75  parts  of  water  in  100  parts.  The 
grains  which  are  sometimes  grouped  together  and  spoken  of  as 
"cereals"  (the  seeds  of  the  Gramineae)  show  a  very  different 
proportion,  but  yet  cannot  be  counted  actually  rich  in  proteids  ; 
thus  800  grms.  of  wheat,  or  1000  grms.  of  maize  or  1200  grms. 
of  rice  must  be  taken  in  order  that,  in  each  case,  100  grms.  of 
proteids  may  be  obtained.  It  is  in  the  seeds  of  plants  which 
belong  to  the  natural  order  Leguminosae  and  are  sometimes 
collectively  named  "pulse"  that  proteids  are  most  abundant, 
and,  holding  but  little  water,  these  seeds  are,  as  we  shall  see^ 


CHAP,  vil.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  99 

rich  in  other  foodstuffs  also.  In  the  ripe  pea,  22  parts  by 
weight  p.c.  are  proteids,  and  the  bean  and  the  lentil  have 
respectively  23  parts  and  25  parts  p.c.  And  while  we  must 
consume  3000  grms.  (five  pints)  of  cow's  milk  or  5000  grms. 
(eleven  pounds)  of  potatoes  to  obtain  100  grms.  of  proteids, 
the  same  quantity  of  proteid  is  yielded  by  430  grms.  of  peas — 
fifteen  ounces  only1. 

§  37.  Thus  we  see  that  from  all  herbaceous  vegetable 
tissue  which  we  eat,  we  obtain  a  small  but  an  exceedingly 
small  amount  of  proteid,  that  from  certain  organs  of  plants 
which  are  reserves  of  plant  food,  but  yet  watery,  we  may 
obtain  more,  and  that,  among  vegetable  foods,  edible  seeds 
are  the  richest  in  proteids.  This  is  true  of  the  seeds  which  we 
know  as  cereals  (in  which  the  percentage  of  proteids  is  roughly 
10),  or  the  seeds  of  peas,  beans  and  their  allies  (in  which  the 
percentage  of  proteids  is  roughly  25). 

We  may  now  ask,  can  any  general  statements  be  made 
concerning  these  vegetable  proteids? 

(a)  Globulins  are  by  far  the  most  abundant  of  the  plant 
proteids.      Albumins  are  found  but  in   small  quantities  and 
rarely,  especially  in  the  plants  most  used  as  food.     Albumoses^ 
which  it  will  be  remembered  are  very  soluble,  occur  in  the 
milky  juice  or  "  latex  "  of  certain  foreign  plants,  and  they  are 
described  in    some    flowers.      Their   presence   here   probably 
means  that  the  proteids,  which  were   stored  in   the   seed  in 
some  form  less  easy  to  dissolve,   are  beginning  to   undergo 
change  under  the  action  of  some  ferment,  and  to  be  prepared 
for  the  use  of  the  young  plant. 

(b)  The  plant  proteids  as  they  occur  in  nature  are,  on 
the    whole,    more    mixed  with   other  foodstuffs   than   are   the 
proteids  which  are  found  in  animal  foods,  and  this  is  true 

1  Various  fungi  and  algae  have  a  considerable  amount  of  proteid  in  their 
composition,  but  they  do  not  usually  formfli&es  de  resistance  in  diet. 

7—2 


ioo  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

especially  of  admixture  with  the  carbohydrates  or  fats.  We 
have  seen  that  ioo  grms.  of  proteids  may  be  eaten  from 
white  of  egg,  with  admixture  of  no  carbohydrates  and  only 
2  grms.  of  fats ;  and  further  that  the  same  weight  of  proteid 
may  be  taken  from  lean  beef,  with  7  grms.  of  fats  and  no 
carbohydrates.  But  if  we  consider  peas — and  they  are  a 
vegetable  food  rich  in  proteids — we  find  that  to  eat  ioo  grms. 
of  proteids  from  them  demands  that  7  grms.  of  fats  and  230 
grms.  of  carbohydrates  shall  be  eaten  too,  while  in  the  case  of 
corn  14  grms.  of  fats  and  580  grms.  of  carbohydrates  accompany 
ioo  grms.  of  proteids. 

(c)  As  among  the  food  proteids  of  animals,  so  among 
those  which  are  obtained  from  plants,  there  are  differences  in 
digestibility.  But,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  vegetable  proteids 
are  less  completely  absorbed  when  eaten  by  man.  We  find  that 
of  peas,  shelled  and  well  boiled,  from  17 — 27  parts  per  cent, 
by  weight  of  the  proteids  present  are  passed  from  the  bowel 
unabsorbed ;  the  corresponding  loss  in  the  case  of  white  bread 
is  20 — 25  parts  per  cent,  by  weight  of  proteids;  and  as  much 
as  40  per  cent,  of  the  proteids  of  lentils  may  be  thus  rejected. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  all  these  proteids  lie  in  cells 
which  have  walls  of  indigestible  cellulose,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  action  of  the  digestive  juices  may  be  hindered  by 
penetration  of  this  substance — which  they  leave  undissolved. 
It  has  been  found  that  a  flour  made  from  pulse  and  cereals  has 
unabsorbed  remains  of  about  9  parts  per  cent,  of  proteids; 
here  it  may  be  that  grinding  up  the  cells  with  their  contents 
necessarily  breaks  the  walls,  and  so  makes  it  easier  to  dissolve 
what  lies  within. 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  101 

CARBOHYDRATES. 
A.     Carbohydrates  in  animal  substances. 

§  38.  It  is,  probably,  the  distribution  of  carbohydrates 
in  foods  which  has  led  to  the  belief  that  proteids  belong 
characteristically  to  animal  substances,  and  carbohydrates  to 
plants  and  their  products.  The  belief  is,  as  we  have  said, 
partly  founded  on  misapprehension,  for  all  plants  when  living 
have  a  proteid  constituent,  while  the  proteid  content  of  some 
edible  fungi  is  large ;  but  the  carbohydrates  are,  certainly,  very 
unequally  distributed.  We  may  say  that,  with  the  great 
exception  of  milk,  there  is  no  animal  food  in  which 
they  abound.  They  do  play  a  most  important  part  in 
animal  life,  and  the  starch-like  body  glycogen  is  plentiful 
in  the  liver  sometimes,  and,  in  very  early  stages  of  life,  it 
occurs  in  the  muscles  and  in  other  tissues.  Yet  liver  and 
muscular  tissue,  as  used  in  the  kitchen,  have  no  carbohydrate 
constituent  sufficiently  important  to  be  taken  into  account. 
Glycogen  only  accumulates  after  abundant  nourishment  of 
a  particular  kind  has  been  taken,  and  animals  are  not  usually 
slaughtered  in  full  digestion;  thus  glycogen  is  absent,  nor  can 
we  expect  to  find  sugar,  which  springs  from  glycogen  in 
animals  by  post  mortem  change.  Milk,  as  we  have  said,  has 
much  carbohydrate  material;  in  100  parts1  of  cow's  milk  87 
are  water,  but  of  the  remaining  13  parts,  5  are  milk  sugar,  or 
lactose.  Indeed  we  may  say  that  the  only  animal  carbohydrate 
of  importance  from  a  dietetic  point  of  view  is  the  soluble 
carbohydrate,  sugar  of  milk;  and  the  fact  that  it  is  soluble 
(and  therefore  at  the  disposal  of  the  absorbing  cells  of  the 

1  Throughout  this  section  the  term  "parts,"  when  used  of  the  (y^n^i- 
tative  composition  of  foods,  expresses  parts  by  weight.         ^/^^y&JSkJSi\ 

X^OF  THE 

f  UNIVERSITY 

Of  > 

*fV/^ 


IO2  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

intestine  without  much  preparation),  is  in  harmony  with  the 
fact  that  milk  is  the  natural  food  of  all  young  sucking  animals. 
When  very  young,  these  animals  have  either  scanty  saliva, 
or  saliva  with  weak  digestive  action. 


B.     Carbohydrates  in  vegetable  substances. 

§  39-  Green  plants  are  the  great  builders-up  of  carbo- 
hydrate substances.  Formed  chiefly  in  the  leaves,  these  sub- 
stances are  used  for  the  nutrition  both  of  the  plant  which 
forms  them  and  of  the  young  plant  which  shall  succeed  it. 
For  the  latter  purpose  they  are  stored,  generally  in  some 
insoluble  form,  as  in  the  date-seed,  which  contains  much 
cellulose,  or  in  the  potato,  which  has  almost  20  parts  per  cent, 
of  starch.  But  the  more  soluble  bodies,  dextrin  and  sugar,  do 
occur, — for  example  in  the  chestnut,  in  the  flesh  of  the  dr.te, 
and  in  the  grape. 

It  is,  then,  the  storage  organs  of  plants  which  we  must 
examine  if  we  wish  to  examine  vegetable  foods  which  afford 
carbohydrate  food-stuffs.  We  will  consider  certain  of  these 
organs  which  may  be  looked  on  as  types,  noting  those  points 
about  their  structure  and  constituents  which  are  important  in 
the  shaping  of  a  diet. 

A  grain  of  wheat  is  a  familiar  storehouse  of  vegetable 
carbohydrates,  and  there  are  three  points  about  it  which 
concern  us  here.  First,  it  is  a  mass  of  small,  closely-fitting 
compartments  or  cells,  the  protoplasmic  substance  of  each 
cell  being  bounded  by  walls  of  cellulose :  second,  the  contents 
of  the  cells  are  not  of  the  same  nature  throughout  the  grain  : 
third,  the  contents  of  the  cells  vary  somewhat  with  the  age 
and  condition  of  the  grain. 

The  first  point  is  of  importance  because  cellulose  is  practi- 
cally indigestible  to  man.  If  a  grain  of  wheat  were  eaten 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  103 

whole  (except  for  such  crushing  and  breaking  as  the  teeth 
bring  about  in  chewing)  the  digestive  fluids  —  saliva  and 
pancreatic  juice — would  have  to  penetrate  the  indigestible 
walls  before  reaching  the  nutritious  carbohydrates  which  lie 
within  ;  if  the  grain  be  very  finely  ground  before  eating,  the 
mixing  of  digestive  juices  is  more  ready,  their  action  easier 
and  more  nearly  complete.  Thus  the  nutritious  matter  of 
a  very  fine  flour  can  be  acted  upon  more  thoroughly 
than  can  that  which  is  made  up  of  coarser  particles1. 

In  the  second  place,  the  contents  of  the  cells  of  the 
wheat  grain  are  not  alike  throughout  the  grain.  The  contents 
of  the  cells  may  be  generally  described  as  starch  grains  and 
stored  proteid,  with  a  small  amount  of  protoplasmic  (i.e.  living 
proteid)  substance;  in  the  cells  towards  the  centre  of  the 
grain  the  starch  is  most  abundant ;  towards  the  exterior  there 
is  a  relative  increase  of  proteids.  Further,  the  walls  are 
unlike  in  composition ;  delicate  cellulose  walls  mark  the  central 
cells ;  towards  the  outside  the  walls  are  thicker,  and  some  of 
them  are  very  dense,  so  that  they  form  a  protective  covering. 
Thus  flour  prepared  from  the  whole  grain  of  wheat  may  differ 
considerably  from  preparations  which  contain  only  the  central 
or  the  outside  (cortical)  parts  of  the  grain ;  moreover,  flours 
made  from  the  central  cells  alone  can  never  be  rich  in 
proteids,  since  the  proteid-rich  layer  is  cortical. 

In  the  third  place,  the  contents  of  the  cells  of  the  wheat- 
grain  vary  somewhat  with  the  age  and  condition  of  the  grain, 
and  with  the  degree  of  ripening.  There  are  variations  in  the 
amount  of  proteid  matter  present,  and  variations  in  the  cha- 
racter of  the  carbohydrate.  A  diastatic  ferment  is  present  in 
wheat,  and,  by  its  action,  some  of  the  stored  starch  is  changed 
to  sugar  when  the  grains  are  of  suitable  age  and  placed  under 
suitable  conditions  (as  in  malting  for  beer-making).  This 
variation  is  not  of  great  importance  in  ordinary  diet,  but  some 
fancy  flours  owe  certain  of  their  peculiarities  to  the  state 
1  See  above,  §  37. 


IO4  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

of  the  grain  from  which  they  are  made.  For  the  most  part 
we  may  say  that  the  carbohydrate  of  wheat  is  starch,  with 
dextrin  and  sugar.  About  70  parts  by  weight  in  100  of 
English  wheat  are  made  up  of  starch;  about  2  parts  are 
cellulose ;  about  1 1  or  12  parts  are  proteid  and  other  nitro- 
genous matter;  and  mineral  matters  or  salts  make  up  i  to  2 
per  cent.,  and  are,  roughly,  equal  to  the  amount  of  fats  present. 
The  salient  points  about  the  carbohydrate  food-stuffs  in 
wheat  then,  are  the  following : 

(a)  The  main  carbohydrate  starch  (of  which  there  are 
about  70  parts   per   cent.)  is   indigestible   in   the   raw  state : 
cooked,  it  needs  change  to  bodies  which  can  be  absorbed,— 
a  change  which  is  readily  brought  about  by  the  ferments  of 
saliva  and  of  pancreatic  juice. 

(b)  The   starch   is   mixed   with   food-stuffs   of  the   other 
classes;  thus  when  we  eat  100  grammes  of  starch  from  wheat, 
we  eat  with  it   17  grammes  of  proteids  and  2\  grammes  of 
fats.     In  this  respect  the  wheat  contrasts  with  lean  beef  (which 
we  took  as  an  example  of  animal,  proteid,  food) ;  there  is  in  the 
beef  greater  preponderance  of  its  main  constituent ',  proteid. 

(c)  Salts  are  present;  rather  more  than  ij  parts  in  100. 

The  whole  groups  of  "cereals,"  as  they  are  popularly 
termed,  show  a  strong  likeness  to  wheat  in  these  salient  points. 
The  cereals  are  the  familiar  edible  fruits  of  the  Gramineae, 
and  although  there  are  variations  in  their  constitution — excess 
of  starch  and  especial  deficiency  of  fat  in  rice ;  relatively  large 
admixture  of  fat  in  oats — yet  they  all  hold  starch  as  the 
predominant  food-stuff;  in  all,  the  starch  is  enclosed  by  cel- 
lulose walls;  in  all,  nitrogenous  matters  (§37),  water,  and 
salts  are  present  too. 

In   100  parts  of  rice  there  are  about  76  parts  of  starch,  and  there  are  63 
parts  in  oatmeal,  66  parts   in  maize,  63  parts  in   buckwheat  (all  in   100 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  105 

parts  of  the  grain).     Fat  is  almost  absent  from  rice  :  in  oats  it  may  amount 
to  8  or  ro  parts  in  JOG. 

In  the  chestnut  we  have  a  seed  which,  though  different 
from  a  cereal  grain  in  the  eye  of  a  botanist,  is  almost  as  rich 
in  carbohydrates.  When  the  nut  is  ground  into  flour,  the 
cells  holding  these  carbohydrates  are  broken  down,  at  least  in 
part,  and  the  carbohydrates  are  set  free ;  they  form,  with  the 
remnants  of  cell- walls,  a  flour — chestnut  flour.  Analysis 
of  this  flour  shows  that  the  digestible  carbohydrates  present 
are  mixed :  there  are  sugar  and  dextrin  as  well  as  starch. 

The  digestible  carbohydrates  amount  to : — starch  about  30  parts, 
dextrin  about  23  parts,  sugar  about  17  parts,  all  in  100  parts  of  chestnut 
flour. 

We  may  contrast  with  these  storage  organs  the  seed  of 
such  a  legume  as  the  pea.  This  seed  is  like  the  wheat  grain  in 
that  carbohydrates  abound,  and  in  that  the  important  carbo- 
hydrate is  starch.  But  less  starch  is  found  than  in  wheat  or 
in  the  other  cereals  and,  as  we  know,  more  proteid  matter 
occurs  (§  36).  Cellulose  walls  enclose  the  stored  up  foodstuffs, 
and  salts  are  relatively  abundant,  that  is,  they  generally 
amount  to  more  than  2  parts  in  100.  The  same  characters 
that  mark  the  pea  are  distinctive  also  of  beans,  lentils,  and 
the  other  seeds  which  are  popularly  known  as  "  pulse." 

The  actual  percentage  of  starch  in  "  pulse  "  is  between  50  and  60. 
The  amount  of  fat  in  haricot-beans,  peas,  and  lentils  is  small  (about  2  parts 
per  cent.)  but  in  the  less  familiar  "pulses,"  pea-mits  and  soy  beans, 
there  is  much  more  ;  50  parts  and  about  18  parts  per  cent,  respectively. 

A  further  contrast  to  the  wheat  grain,  and  indeed  to  all 
the  seeds  we  have  yet  considered,  we  find  in  the  sugary 
fruits,  of  which  the  grape  may  be  taken  as  a  type.  Here 
the  little  hard  pip  or  seed  corresponds  to  the  cleaned  grain 
of  wheat,  and  we  eat  the  soft,  ripe,  fruit-wall,  which  encloses 
the  seeds.  This  is  cellular,  but  the  cells  are  for  the  most 


io6  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

part  large  and  very  thin-walled ;  their  contents  are  watery,  and 
we  find  pectic  bodies1  and  gum,  substances  which  there  is 
reason  to  regard  as  produced  from  carbohydrates  by  some 
chemical  change.  The  water  in  a  grape  makes  up  80  parts  in 
100;  about  13  parts  are  sugar,  and  3  parts  are  the  pectic 
bodies.  With  the  grape  we  may  group  most  of  the  familiar 
''berries''  (including  the  orange  and  lemon),  "stone  fruit,"  such 
as  the  cherry ',  the  peach,  ti\&plum;  and  apples,  and  fears.  The 
relative  amounts  of  sugar  and  of  the  pectic  bodies  vary,  and 
different  organic  acids  are  found  in  different  fruits  (malic  acid 
in  apples  and  pears ;  citric  acid  in  gooseberries,  lemons,  and 
oranges ;  tartaric  acid  in  grapes) ;  still,  there  is  strong  likeness. 
In  all,  we  find  the  large  thin-walled  cells,  with  their  watery, 
sugary,  contents2;  in  all,  some  bodies  which  if  not  carbohydrates 
are  closely  allied  to  them.  The  banana  differs,  in  that  it  is 
especially  rich  in  sugar  and  the  pectic  bodies,  and  lacks 
organic  acid ;  and  in  the  pod  of  the  carob-  or  locust-bean  (used 
as  food  by  some  Europeans,  though  not  by  Englishmen),  we 
find  nearly  70  parts  in  every  100  made  up  of  sugar,  pectine, 
and  gum.  The  flesh  of  the  date  is  also  rich  in  soluble  carbo- 
hydrates and  their  allies  (sugar,  pectine,  gum),  and  the  same 
is  true  of  dried  figs  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  date, 
the  carob-pods  and  the  fig  have  lost  water  since  they  were 
fresh  and  ripe.  Tomatoes,  melons,  marrows  and  cucumbers — all 
of  them  fruits  which  may  be  considered  in  this  group,  can 
hardly  be  looked  upon  as  containing  stores  of  carbohydrates ; 
for  even  the  tomato  has  only  6  parts  per  cent,  of  sugar,  and 
the  others,  poorer  still  in  this,  their  only  digestible  carbo- 
hydrate, are  not  eaten  for  their  nutritive  value. 

1  In  §  28  brief  mention  has  been  made  of  the  characters  of  pectine.     It 
is  probable  that  this  name  has  been  used  to  denote  a  group  of  substances 
rather  than  one  chemical  substance,  and  to  indicate  this  the  term  pectic 
bodies  has  been  used  in  this  paragraph. 

2  Certain  of  the  cells,  e.g.  in  the  pear,  are  quite  different  and  practically 
indigestible  :  they  are  the  "  scleroblasts "  of  botanists  and   have  greatly 
thickened,  woody  cell-walls. 


CHAP,  viz.]          The  Constituents  of  Food.  107 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  arrange  the  chief  members  of  the  group  of 
fruits  here  described  (and  the  group  is  of  course  purely  artificial  and  formed 
for  present  needs)  in  series,  indicating  their  richness  in  carbohydrates  and 
their  richness  in  water.  The  order  is,  naturally,  nearly  inverse. 


Carbohydrate 

Water 

fruit. 

in  100  parts. 

in  TOO  parts. 

Dried  figs 

60 

!7 

Dates  (dried) 

55 

21 

Carob  pods  (dried) 

5i 

15 

Bananas 

!Q 

74 

Grapes 

!3 

80 

Oranges 

8 

86 

Pears 

7 

84 

Apples 

7 

83 

Tomatoes 

6 

90 

Peaches,  cucumbers,  and  1 

j. 

•2 

04. 

Vegetable  marrows       ) 

VT 

These  percentages  are  approximate,  and  bodies  of  the  pectic  gi-onp  are 
not  here  included  in  the  carbohydrates. 

§  40.  It  is  not  only  in  seeds  and  fruits  that  we  find  abundant 
vegetable  carbohydrates  :  there  are  storage  places  for  them,  as 
we  have  said,  in  other  organs  of  the  plant;  in  stems,  leaves, 
roots.  These  organs  are  often  changed  or  modified,  so  that 
the  leaves  are  not  like  typical  green  foliage  leaves,  and  the  stems 
not  like  the  familiar  upright,  green,  plant-stems.  The  potato 
may  be  taken  as  a  well-known  example.  It  is  a  stem,  changed 
and  swollen,  a  mass  of  cells  whose  cellulose  walls  with  their 
thin  lining  of  protoplasm  enclose  watery  contents  (75  parts 
in  100  parts  are  water),  and  contain  abundant  starch  (about 
1 8  parts  per  cent.)  with  a  small  amount  of  other  carbohydrates 
and  of  pectic  bodies.  That  is  to  say,  the  potato  is  watery, 
but  yields  a  starchy  food.  And,  resembling  it  in  general 
plan,  although  differing  from  it  in  some  details,  we  have  almost 
all  those  vegetables  that  are  popularly  known  as  "root  vege- 
tables " :  these  may  be  true  roots,  as  the  carrot,  the  beet ; 
stems,  as  the  Jerusalem  artichoke;  inconspicuous  stems  bearing 


io8  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

prominent  leaves,  as  the  onion,  and  the  true  artichoke.  For 
the  most  part  their  stored  carbohydrate  is  a  sugar, — this  is 
so  in  the  beet,  the  parsnip,  the  carrot,  and  the  onion  :  in  the 
parsnip  and  the  sweet  potato1  starch  is  present  too.  The 
pectic  group  of  bodies  is  always  found ;  indeed  in  the  turnip 
they  seem  to  replace  stored  carbohydrate ;  for  pectine  and  its 
allies  form  3  parts  in  100,  while  starch,  dextrin,  and  sugar  are 
absent. 

All  the  organs  which  we  have  just  considered  have  more  than  75  parts 
per  cent,  of  water,  and  in  onions  and  turnips  the  percentage  of  water  is 
over  90.  Their  carbohydrate  content  is,  approximately,  as  follows : 

Starch  Sugar  Pectic  bodies 

in  100  parts.         in  100  parts.  in  100  parts. 

Potatoes  18  i    (with  some  dextrin). 

Sweet  potato  15                      i\  3    (with  some  dextrin). 

Parsnip  3*5                     5  nearly  4    (with  some  dextrin). 

Beetroot                                          10  i\ 

Carrot                                                4^  4 

Turnip  3 

Onion  —         about    5  about  5 

From  the  list  just  given  it  will  be  realized,  that  the  carrot, 
the  turnip,  and  the  onion  have  no  claim  to  be  regarded  as 
foods  rich  in  carbohydrates ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
various  salad  plants  (lettuce,  watercress,  mustard,  endive}  and 
of  the  many  leaves  and  herbaceous  stems  that  are  used  as 
"vegetables"  or  "fruits."  Celery  contains  a  little  sugar  (2  parts 
per  cent.) ;  watercress,  between  3  and  4  parts  per  cent,  of 
starch  and  its  "gum"  derivatives;  rhubarb  a  little  sugar  with 
"gum";  but  the  value  of  these  and  other  green  foods  depends 
on  other  characteristics  (see  below,  §  46). 


1  This  is  Convolvulus  Batatas,  and  not  related  to  the  true  potato,  So- 
lanuni  tuberosiim. 


CHAP.  VII.]          The  Constituents  of  Food.  109 


Carbohydrate  food-stuffs  in  plants. 
Summary. 

§  41.  From  the  facts  given  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs  we 
gather  one  or  two  general  statements  easier  to  remember, 
perhaps,  than  actual  statistical  details. 

A.  Starch   is   the   carbohydrate    most    generally   found 
and    most   abundantly  found  in    plants.     Dextrin    and    sugar 
occur  sometimes,  but  in  much  smaller  quantities :  in  certain 
parts    of    certain    plants    the    imperfectly   understood    pectic 
bodies  are  found,  and  they  are  probably  to  be  looked  upon  as 
derivatives  of  carbohydrates.     The  carbohydrate  (starch) 
in  which  plants  are  the  richest,  is  one  which  must  be 
changed   before   it  can  be  absorbed  by  the  digestive 
cells  of  animals. 

B.  The  Cereals,  as  they  are  popularly  termed,  hold  the 
richest  stores  of  starchy  food  ;  they  include  most  of  the  grains 
which  are  commonly  ground  to  form  meal  or  flour,  and  which 
are  the  main  sources  of  bread  and  cakes. 

C.  Pulse  is  the  name  given  to  a  group   of  seeds  not 
quite  so  rich  in   starch   as   are  the  cereals,   but  more   widely 
nutritious,  since  they  (for  the  most  part)  contain  larger  stores 
of  proteid.      These  seeds  may  be  ground  to  meal  (pea-meal, 
bean-meal,  lentil  flour),  but  are  not  adapted  for  bread  making. 

D.  A  group  of  sugary  fruits  may  be  next  distinguished, 
they  all  contain  much    more   water   than  do   the    cereals    or 
the  "  pulses,"  and  sugar  takes  the  place  of  starch :  in  most 
cases  the  pectic  bodies  appear  too.     The  fruits  which  may 
be  placed   in  this  group  are  varied  in  character;   dried  figs 
have    abundant    sugar;    dates    and    bananas   a    considerable 
amount ;  while  the  peach  can  hardly  be  looked  on  as  a  store- 
house of  any  carbohydrate. 


1 10  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

E.  Another   rather   heterogeneous    group    is   formed   by 
stems,  roots,  or  leaves,   in  which    the    function    of  storing   up 
reserves   is   added   to,  or  replaces   their   usual  function.     In 
these  there   is   sometimes   a   considerable   amount   of  starch 
(as  in  the  potato) ;  sometimes  only  sugar,  and  that  in  small 
amount  (the  carrot) ;  sometimes  mainly  the  pectic  bodies  (the 
turnip). 

F.  The  edible  green  leaves  (cabbage),  stems  (asparagus), 
or   whole  plants  (cress   seedlings),  which    have   great    dietary 
value    in    some  ways,   are  unimportant   as    sources  of  carbo- 
hydrate food-stuffs. 

G.  There  are  certain  seeds,  fruits,  or  other  parts  of  plants 
which  have    marked    characters,   but  are   not  easily  included 
in    the   foregoing   groups.      Thus   the    chestnut   is   rich   in 
starch,  sugar,   and   dextrin ;    the   filbert   has  a   fair  amount 
of  carbohydrates;  and  Iceland  moss  is  very  rich  if  not  in 
starch,  in  a  body  which  resembles  it  closely. 


CHAP,  vil.]          The  Constituents  of  Food.  1 1 1 

FATS. 
A.     Fats  in  animal  substances. 

§  42.  When  fat  is  formed  in  the  animal  body  it  is  formed 
as  the  work  of  living  cells.  These  cells,  fed  by  the  lymph 
and  blood, — which  carry  nourishment  throughout  the  animal,— 
deposit  in  their  substance  minute  oil-drops.  And  when  this 
particular  activity  is  carried  very  far,  the  oil-drops  run  together, 
growing  at  the  expense  of  the  substance  of  the  cell,  so  that 
this  substance  remains  as  a  very  delicate  case  for  the  fat  which 
it  holds. 

Suet  is  a  mass  of  fat  formed  in  this  way  by  the  joint 
action  of  thousands  of  cells ;  so  too  is  the  fat  of  beef,  mutton, 
pork,  goose,  salmon,  the  eel  and  of  all  fatty  fishes  and  meats. 

And  marrow  (that  is  to  say  yellow  marrow]  is  nearly  pure 
fatty  tissue. 

In  the  nerves  and  in  brain  we  find  fatty  substance  of  a 
special  kind — the  medulla  or  myelin  sheath  of  the  nerves. 
The  nerves  in  general  do  not  form  a  food  by  themselves,  for, 
as  we  know,  they  are  scattered  through  the  tissues  of  the  body. 
But  brains  are  eaten,  though  they  are  a  delicacy  or  adjunct  to 
food  rather  than  a  staple  food :  they  are  nutritious  and  digest- 
ible, and  fat  is  one  of  the  food-stuffs  they  yield. 

Liver  we  have  placed  among  the  proteid-holding  foods, 
and  its  main  value  is  as  a  source  of  proteid.  But  a  little  fat  is 
almost  always  found  in  liver  and  sometimes,  as  in  certain  fish 
and  in  the  diseased  geese  which  furnish  pate  de  foie  gras,  the 
amount  is  considerable. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  fat-laden  tissues  of  ani- 
mals form  one  great  source  of  fatty  food— fat  meat, 
fat  fish,  marrow,  brain,  liver.  In  fat  meat  and  fish 
and  in  marrow  the  fat  drops  are  formed  within  con- 
nective-tissue cells;  in  the  brain  it  is  the  nerve  fibres 


112  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

which  have  a  fatty  constituent;  in  the  liver  the  liver 
cells  are  changed  and  come  to  contain  fat,  and  in 
many  cases  the  connective  tissue  of  the  liver  is 
loaded  too. 

But  the  activity  of  the  cells  which  form  fat  does  not  always 
end  in  the  production  of  such  a  mass  of  fat-cells  as  we  find  in 
suet.  Let  us  consider,  for  a  moment,  the  yolk  of  an  egg ; 
chemically  it  holds  about  30  parts  per  cent,  of  fats  and  15  parts 
per  cent,  of  proteids ;  histologically  it  is  a  gigantic  cell,  with 
very,  very  little  protoplasm,  and  a  large  quantity  of  reserve- 
material  destined  to  nourish  the  growing  bird.  The  fat  of  the 
reserve-material  is  for  the  most  part  in  tiny  drops  which  do  not 
run  together :  yolk  of  egg  is  in  fact  an  emulsion,  though  not 
quite  a  typical  emulsion. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  consider  milk.  The  cells  of  the 
mammary  gland  form  fat-drops  within  themselves,  but  do  not 
end  by  becoming  mere  fat-cells.  They  cast  off  the  small  drop- 
lets of  fat  which  they  have  formed,  into  the  duct  or  gland- 
passage  which  leads  to  the  exterior,  and  here  the  fat-drops 
remain  separate  from  each  other,  by  reason  of  the  other 
constituents  of  milk  which  are  also  formed  and  turned  out  by 
the  gland-cells.  The  fat  of  milk  is  very  finely  divided;  it  forms 
a  true  emulsion. 

Thus  we  see  that  fat  formed  by  living  cells,  but 
set  free  from  those  cells  (milk),  or  loosely  held  in 
the  substance  of  a  vastly  extended  cell  (yolk),  and 
remaining  in  a  state  of  fine  division,  is  important  as 
fa^ty  food. 

Lastly,  we  may  have  foods  containing  a  very  high  per- 
centage of  fat  prepared  from  the  various  fatty  tissues 
or  from  milk.  Familiar  examples  are  butter,  dripping,  lard, 
together  with  the  different  imitations  of  butter.  Here  the  fat 
is  not  within  cells  and  not  emulsified :  in  lard  and  dripping  it  is 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  113 

pressed  or  drawn  out  of  the  cells  which  formed  it ;  in  butter, 
the  shaking  and  stirring  of  the  churn  have  destroyed  the  emul- 
sion of  milk.  Cheese  may  claim  to  be  a  fatty  food,  but  has  an 
equal  quantity  of  proteid — about  30  parts  per  cent.  In  cheese- 
making,  the  proteid  is  precipitated  and  the  milk  fat  clings  to 
it ;  then,  by  pressure,  a  very  dense  food  is  formed. 

We  may  arrange  examples  of  the  groups  of  foods  just  mentioned,  in  a 
descending  series,  beginning  with  those  in  which  the  percentage  of  fat  is 
the  highest,  and  giving  approximately  the  percentage  composition  in  fat. 

Article  of  food  Fat  in  100  parts 

by  weight 

Marrow  of  bones        about  95  parts 

Butter  „  87  „ 

Bacon  ,,  65  „ 

Fat  mutton  ,,  35  ,, 

Cheese  ,,  30  ,, 

Yolk  of  egg  ,,  30  ,, 

Salmon  ,,  12  ,, 

Brain  ,,  8  ,, 

Milk  „  4  „ 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  milk — the  food  which  is  in  itself  a  complete 
and  satisfactory  food  for  the  early  months  of  human  life — comes  low  in  the 
list.  Indeed  the  foods  which  have  a  very  high  percentage  of  fat  are  not 
suitable  for  digestion  alone,  at  least  in  temperate  climates:  we  eat  bread 
with  butter  or  dripping,  and  beans  with  fat  bacon. 

§  43.  Looking  at  animal  fats  as  forming  a  group,  can  we 
make  any  statement  about  them  which  is  important  from  a 
dietetic  point  of  view  ?  We  can  do  little  more  than  recall  the 
statements  made  in  §  23. 

A.  They  are  as  a  rule  mixtures  of  fats.  And  this  fact 
is  of  importance ;  for  different  fats  have  different  melting  points, 
and  thus,  mixtures  which  contain  the  fats  in  varying  propor- 
tion will  also  vary  in  melting  points.  Speaking  of  animal  fats 
generally,  we  may  say  their  melting  points  are  high ;  they  are 
not  liquid  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  air  in  England, 


114  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

but  there  are  distinct  differences  among  them,  so  that  we  come 
to  have  what  are  called  hard  fats  and  soft  fats.  Thus  mutton 
fat  is  particularly  hard  (melting  point  high) ;  pork  fat,  and 
goose  grease  are  especially  soft  (melting  point  low). 

B.  But,  further,  the  animal  fats,  as  eaten  in  England  at 
least,  are  neutral  fats.     A  very  small  amount  of  fatty  acid 
may  be  present ;  when  its  amount  increases  we  say  the  fat  is 
rancid,  and  rancid  fats  are  usually  rejected  as  food. 

C.  And  lastly,  with  the  exception  of  the  fats  in  milk  and 
in  yolk  of  egg,  the  animal  fats  of  food  are  not  emulsified. 
Freed  from  the  tissue  cells  in  which  they  lie,  by  digestion,  or 
by  previous  treatment,  the  fat-drops  run  together  into  larger 
drops  and  irregular  masses. 

Thus  a  good  deal  of  physical  change  and  chemi- 
cal change  is  called  for  by  the  fats  of  food  before 
they  can  be  absorbed  by  the  cells  of  the  intestinal 
wall.  They  must,  as  a  rule,  be  melted;  they  must  be 
emulsified;  and,  in  part  at  least,  they  must  be  split  up 
into  fatty  acids  and  glycerine. 

As  we  have  said,  milk  offers  fat  which  is  already 
emulsified :  we  have  seen,  earlier,  that  its  proteid  is  a 
soluble  proteid  and  that  its  carbohydrate  is  sugar  of  milk ;  the 
constitution  of  milk  is  admirably  adapted  for  the  nourishment 
of  the  young  animal. 


B.     Fats  in  vegetable  substances. 

§  44.  Changing  only  a  few  words  here  and  there,  much 
that  has  been  said  above  in  §  39  about  the  occurrence  of 
carbohydrates  in  plants  might  here  be  said  touching  the 
occurrence  of  fats.  Like  carbohydrates,  the  fats  are  mainly 
stored  in  seeds  and  fruits,  like  carbohydrates  they  are  found, 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  115 

but  less  abundantly,  in  stems  and  leaves.  A  fatty  seed  is  a 
closely  grouped  mass  of  little  cells,  as  is  a  starchy  seed ;  the 
cell-walls  are  of  indigestible  cellulose,  some  delicate  sheet  of 
living  substance  lines  them,  a  mineral  residue  (i.e.  some  form 
of  "  salt ")  is  always  present. 

But,  changing  the  point  of  view  a  little,  we  might  with 
equal  justice  draw  a  parallel  between  the  occurrence  of  fats  in 
plants  and  their  occurrence  in  the  tissues  of  animals.  We  do 
not,  indeed,  use  commonly  any  fatty  vegetable  secretion  which 
is  comparable  with  milk  (although  the  "  milk  "  of  the  cocoanut 
has  resemblances  in  more  than  name),  but  we  must  distinguish 
vegetable  fats  as  (a]  Fats  laid  down  in  the  tissues  and  eaten 
with  them,  or  (b)  Fats  expressed  or  prepared  from  these  tissues. 

(a)  The  fats  laid  down  in  tissues  are  comparable  with 
those  eaten  in  fatty  meat  (adipose  tissue),  but,  whereas  the 
residue  of  cell-substance  which  encloses  fat  in  animal  tissues  is 
digestible,  there  is  in  plant-cells  an  additional,  indigestible  cell- 
wall.  A  seed  such  as  the  almond  holds  more  than  50  parts 
per  cent,  of  fats,  and  the  cocoanut,  the  brazil  nut,  the  walnut, 
varying  somewhat  in  percentage  composition,  are  all  richly 
fatty.  In  the  olive,  it  is  not  only  the  seed  (kernel)  but  also 
the  fleshy  fruit  wall  that  is  laden  with  fat  (much  as  the  date- 
flesh  is  laden  with  sugar),  and  as  an  example  of  fat  in  plant 
stems  we  may  take  the  whole  natural  order  to  which  belong 
Angelica,  Chervil,  and  Fennel  (the  Umbelliferae}.  Here  we 
cannot  perhaps  speak  of  concentrated  stores,  but  in  both  stems 
and  leaves  there  is  a  volatile  oil  which,  at  least  in  the  fennel,  is 
sometimes  combined  with  bread  to  make  a  palatable  and 
nutritious  food. 

(£)  Fats  prepared  by  chemical  or  mechanical 
means  from  the  plant  substance,  which  formed  them  are 
among  the  most  familiar  in  domestic  and  commercial  life. 
Olive  oil  alone  must  rank  very  high  in  popularity  as  a  food- 
stuff, especially  in  southern  Europe,  and  the  oils  prepared 

8—2 


i6 


Domestic  Economy. 


[PT.  I. 


respectively  from  walnuts  and  almonds  and  from  linseed  are 
eaten,  though  less  generally,  and  less  abundantly. 

A  list  of  typical  fat-yielding  vegetable  foods,  arranged  according  to  the 
percentage  of  fat  they  contain,  forms  an  interesting  pendant  to  the  list  of 
fatty  animal  foods  given  in  §  42. 


Article  of  food 

Brazil  nut 

Almond 

Olive 

Linseed 

Cocoanut 

Walnut 

Oatmeal 


about 


Amount  of  fat  in  100 
parts  by  weight 

65  parts 

55 
40 

38 
35 
30 
10 


We  meet  with  the  grains  of  oats  once  more  in  this  place;  in  earlier 
paragraphs  we  recognized  them  as  valuable  for  their  starch  (63  p.c.)  and 
their  proteids  (16  p.c.). 

Can  we  group  together  these  vegetable  fats  and  make  any 
general  statements  about  them  ? 


§  45.  (A)  They  are  in  the  main  neutral  fats.  De- 
composition into  fatty  acids  and  glycerine  is  easily  brought 
about,  especially  in  the  case  of  non-purified  fats;  when  this 
decomposition  is  vigorous  we  have  (v.  supra,  §  43)  the  con- 
dition of  rancidity. 

(B)  In  the  cells  of  fruits  and  (especially)  of  seeds,  fats 
are  often  associated  with  nitrogenous  food-stuffs.  It 
is  rare  to  find  starch  and  fat  in  the  same  seed  at  the  same 
time  (both  are  present,  however,  in  the  filbert  kernel) :  but  the 
almond,  the  pistachio  nut,  the  pea-nut,  have  all  more  than  20 
parts  per  cent,  of  proteids  and  related  bodies.  Thus  many  of 
these  seeds  are  highly  nutritious ;  but  on  the  other  hand  they 
are  difficult  of  digestion,  for  both  proteids  and  fats  are 
shielded  by  the  indigestible  cellulose  walls  within  which  they 
lie.  Indeed  the  digestive  organs  of  civilized  man — so  often 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constittients  of  Food.  117 

weakened   by  hereditary  and  present  habits — make  no  great 
use  of  highly  fatty  seeds. 

The  case  is  different  with  the  pressed  out  or  prepared  oils ; 
here  nothing  stands  between  the  fatty  food-stuff  and  the  diges- 
tive organs,  but  the  oils  are  not  native  emulsions^  but  are 
massive,  and  therefore  a  first  action  in  digestion  is  their  emul- 
sification. 

(C)  The  vegetable  fats  have  as  a  rule  low  melting 
points.  It  is  perhaps  because  we  are  accustomed  to  see 
them  in  the  liquid  (or  melted)  state  that  we  instinctively  speak 
of  them  as  oils.  Oils  are  fats ;  and  the  fats  characteristic  of 
the  olive,  the  almond,  the  rapeseed,  the  linseed,  the  walnut, 
and  other  seeds  and  fruits  are  liquid  at  ordinary  temperatures. 
But  the  fats  of  the  palm  and  the  cocoanut  are  solid  at  these 
temperatures,  and  in  this  property  they  recall  the  groups  of  the 
animal  fats. 


Ii8  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 


SALTS  AND  WATER. 

In  discussing  the  nature  of  food-stuffs  in  Chapter  VI.  we 
pointed  out  that  in  one  sense  proteids,  fats,  and  carbohydrates, 
by  complex  chemical  change,  upheld  and  formed  anew  the 
living  substance  of  the  animal  body.  But  in  a  wider  sense 
inorganic  and  organic  salts  and  water  share  in  the  labour ; 
without  them  an  animal  would  die.  We  will  dwell  briefly  on 
the  distribution  of  (i)  salts,  (2)  water,  in  animal  and  vegetable 
foods  considered  together. 


i.     Salts  in  animal  and  vegetable  substances. 

§  46.  It  is  open  to  us  to  eat  various  salts,  inorganic  and 
organic,  either  in  a  pure  state  or  mixed  with  food,  and  one  in- 
organic salt — chloride  of  sodium — is  largely  eaten  in  the  latter 
fashion.  But  though  the  behaviour  of  salts  within  the  body, 
i.e.  the  part  they  play  in  physiology,  is  obscure,  one  thing  we 
can  say — that  that  part  is  better  played  when  they  are  eaten 
as  constituents  of  food  than  when  they  are  eaten  alone,  or  as 
adjuncts  to  food,  or  drunk  in  solution.  In  the  latter  case, 
indeed,  they  seem  to  have  the  character  of  drugs — their  use 
belongs  rather  to  disordered  conditions  than  to  healthy  life. 
But  a  discussion  of  the  mode  of  action  of. saline  matters  is 
beside  the  point  here ;  accepting  the  facts  that  they  are  im- 
portant qualitatively  in  food,  although  the  amount  present  is 
always  small  compared  with  the  total  amount  of  food,  we  have 
to  consider  briefly  what  is  their  distribution  among  foods. 

We  will  take  first  a  group  of  animal  foods,  including  in  it 
all  organs  of  animals  which  are  commonly  eaten. 

In  butcher's  meat  we  find  rather  more  than  i  part  of 


CHAP.  VIL]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  119 

mineral  matter  in  100,  but  in  fat  meat  (unsalted)  there  is 
sometimes  only  \  part  p.c. 

Poultry  and  game  have  also  from  i  to  i^  parts  p.c. 

Fish  for  the  most  part  contain  more,  varying  from  i  part 
in  the  eel,  to  3  parts  in  the  flounder. 

Eggs  have  about  1*3  parts  p.c.,  and  the  yolk  is  slightly 
richer  in  salts  than  the  white. 

Milk  and  cream  have  less  than  i  part  p.c. ;  there  are  -f-  in 
cow's  milk,  \  in  human  milk,  and  nearly  \  p.c.  in  a  fairly 
typical  cream. 

The  cereals  generally  hold  more  mineral  matter  than  the 
meats  when  the  whole  grain  is  examined.  (Oats  2  parts, 
maize  2  parts,  rye  \\  parts  p.c.)  Removal  of  the  outside 
layers  of  the  grains  lessens  the  content  in  saline  matters ;  rice 
has  only  \  part  p.c.,  a  fine  white  flour  hardly  more  than  \  p.c., 
while  a  fairly  coarse  bran  (bran  representing  the  part  of  wheat 
rejected  in  making  white  flour)  has  6  parts  p.c. 

The  seeds  known  as  pulse  have  still  more  mineral  matter ; 
in  peas  there  are  3  parts,  in  lentils  2\  parts,  in  haricot  beans 
nearly  3  parts  p.c. ;  and  the  oily  seeds  which  are  commonly 
called  nuts  are  in  many  cases  as  rich  (almonds  contain  more 
than  3  parts  p.c.).  The  storage  organs  which  are  popularly 
known  as  root  vegetables  may  rank  nearly  on  a  level  with 
butcher's  meat  in  regard  to  saline  matters,  but  they  are  slightly 
poorer  (potatoes  i  part,  carrots  i  part,  turnips  less  than 
i  part  p.c.). 

Among  green  vegetables  we  find  that  sea-kale  and 
celery  have  less  than  i  part  p.c.  of  salts;  cabbage,  lettuce, 
watercress  have  i  part  p.c.  or  slightly  more,  and  spinach  heads 
the  list  with  2  parts  p.c. 

The  sugary  fruits  are  poor  in  inorganic  salts;  apples, 
pears,  grapes,  peaches,  oranges,  have  all  |  p.c.  or  less ;  but  in 
these  fruits  important  organic  salts  occur— the  salts  of  malic 
acid,  of  tartaric  acid,  of  citric  acid,  or  the  acids 
themselves.  The  lemon  stands  out  conspicuously 


I2O  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

among  these  fruits:    it  holds  about   i^   parts   p.  c.    of 
mineral  matter,  and  5  parts  p.c.  of  citric  acid. 

Briefly,  we  may  say  that  to  have  2  to  3  parts  of 
saline  matter  in  100  parts  of  a  natural  food  is  to  be 
rich  in  saline  matter,  and  that  the  pulses  and  some 
of  the  nuts  answer  to  this  definition.  Cereals  must 
be  placed  next,  to  be  followed  in  order  by  fish,  eggs, 
game  and  poultry,  butcher's  meat.  About  on  a  level 
with  butcher's  meat  we  place  green  vegetables;  the 
root  vegetables  come  rather  lower  in  the  list.  We 
place  milk  next,  and  last,  the  groups  of  sugary  fruits 
— which  are  however  rich  in  organic  acids. 

§  47.  We  have  drawn  up  this  list  having  regard  only  to  the 
saline  constituents  of  the  various  foods  and  looking  upon  them 
in  each  case  as  forming  one  item.  But  the  saline  constituents  of 
different  foods  are  not  alike.  In  the  most  important  foods  we 
find  iron,  magnesium,  potassium,  chlorine,  sodium,  phosphorus, 
calcium  (lime),  but  these  are  present  in  varying  proportions. 
Further,  what  is  called  the  acid  radicle  may  vary ;  thus  one 
food  may  hold  chiefly  chlorides ;  another,  phosphates  ;  another, 
silicates.  And,  lastly,  the  "  mineral "  element  may  exist  not  as 
a  familiar  inorganic  salt  such  as  sulphate  of  iron  or  sulphate  of 
lime,  but  linked  to  or  chemically  hidden  in  some 
complex  organic  substance  probably  very  important 
in  the  chemistry  of  life. 

These  facts  show  that  the  simple  terms  salt,  saline  matters, 
mineral  matters,  cover  wide  variety;  we  cannot  pretend  here 
to  enter  minutely  into  their  meanings  even  for  the  chief  forms 
of  food ;  but  one  or  two  points  are  not  only  especially  interest- 
ing, but  are  charged  with  significance  to  anyone  who  shapes  a 
diet.  We  will  consider  briefly  the  presence  of  calcium,  iron 
and  phosphorus-holding  bodies  in  the  mineral  matter  of  some 
of  the  more  familiar  foods. 

But  in  connection  with  the  consideration,  two  points  must 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food. 


121 


be  borne  in  mind.  To  examine  the  mineral  constituents  of 
complicated  foods,  the  foods  are  usually  dried  and  burnt. 
Thus  all  organic  matter  is  broken  up  and  dispersed,  as  various 
volatile  substances,  and  an  ash  remains  which  is  the  mineral 
residue  ;  all  the  metals  which  were  present  in  the  original  foods 
are  present  still,  but  we  may  be  almost  certain  that  they 
existed  originally  in  different  combinations, — com- 
plex combinations  which  have  been  split  up  by  the 
necessary  process  of  analysis. 

In  the  second  place,  the  total  amount  of  mineral  matter  is 
so  small  that  only  very  minute  fractions  of  its  constituents  are 
present  in  100  parts  of  food  in  the  raw  state.  It  is  slightly 
easier  then  to  consider  1000  or  10,000  parts  of  food:  we  will 
speak  of  the  content  of  10,000  parts,  but  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  this  is  so,  and  the  figures  must  not  be 
compared  with  percentages. 


(Foods  arranged  in 
descending  series) 

cow's  milk 
yolk  of  egg 
peas 
wheat 

human  milk 
potato 

white  of  egg 
beef 


Calcium  as  oxide  in  10,000 
parts  raw  food 

20 
18 
12 

6 
3 


Iron. 


equal 


equal 


equal 


(Foods  arranged  in 

Iron  as  oxide 

in  10,000 

descending  series) 

parts  raw 

food 

f  yolk  of  egg 

2 

^peas 
(.wheat 

2 
2 

(beef 

I 

(potato 

I 

white  of  egg 

4 

(human  milk 

-£Q 

(cow's  milk 

A 

122  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

Phosphorus. 

(Foods  arranged  in  Phosphoric  acid 

descending  series)  in  10,000  parts 

yolk  of  egg  92 

peas  85 

wheat  80 

beef  56 

cow's  milk  24 

potato  1 6 

human  milk  5 

white  of  egg  3 

We  have  chosen  these  mineral  constituents  because  each 
has  an  importance  of  its  own  in  the  animal  body.  Phospho- 
rus is  an  integral  part  of  calcium  phosphate,  and  calcium 
phosphate  forms  more  than  30  parts  p.c.  of  bone.  And  in  all 
nervous  tissue  (nerve-cells,  nerve-fibres)  complex  phosphorus- 
holding  substances  are  present.  The  importance  of  healthy 
bones  and  healthy  brains  can  hardly  be  rated  too  high. 

Calcium  shares  with  phosphorus  in  the  composition  of 
bone,  and  is  present  not  only  as  the  phosphate  but  as  the 
carbonate. 

Iron  is  always  present  in  the  red  colouring  matter  of  the 
blood  (haemoglobin),  and  we  know  that  this  is  the  great  oxygen- 
carrier  of  the  mammalian  body.  And  the  recent  work  of 
physiologists  shows  that  iron  is  also  hidden  away  in  com- 
bination with  the  living  substance  which  forms  the  nuclei  of 
cells. 

It  is  clear  however  that  the  importance  of  these  substances 
is  not  the  same  at  all  periods  of  life ;  the  building  up  of  healthy 
bones  and  teeth  belongs  especially  to  childhood :  it  is  only 
their  maintenance  which  is  important  when  growth  has  ceased. 
Thus  organic  foods  rich  in  lime-compounds  are  especially 
valuable  for  the  young.  In  old  age  their  value  is  less  deter- 
minate, for  an  undue  laying  down  of  lime-compounds,  as  for 
example  in  cartilage  and  in  the  walls  of  blood-vessels,  is  one  of 
the  physiological  dangers  in  age.  Phosphates  (or  some  more 


CHAP.  VII.]         The  Constituents  of  Food.  123 

complex  phosphorus-holding  bodies)  are  also  doubtless  of  great 
importance  to  children ;  but  if,  as  seems  probable,  we  must 
associate  them  with  chemical  change  in  all  nervous  matter, 
then  they  are  of  importance  in  all  phases  of  life. 

The  demand  for  iron  also  runs  through  life,  but  is  especially 
urgent  in  such  conditions  of  poverty  of  blood  as  have  been 
named  anaemic :  it  is  probable  that  very  minute  quantities  of 
iron  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  body,  and  probable,  too,  that  the 
smallness  of  the  quantity  in  milk  is  bound  up  with  the  fact 
that  the  young  animal  which  is  nourished  by  milk  after  birth, 
receives  iron  from  its  mother  before  birth. 


2.     Water  in  animal  and  vegetable  substances. 

§  48.  When  we  remember  that  about  three-fourths  of  the 
living  body  are  made  up  of  water ;  that  all  the  nitrogenous 
waste  of  the  body  is  discharged  in  watery  solution ;  that  the 
undigested  residues  of  food  are  always  moist  when  they  are 
ejected ;  that  every  breath  expired,  is  loaded  with  watery 
vapour,  we  realize  easily  that  water  must  be  an  important 
constituent  of  diet.  In  the  foregoing  paragraphs,  we  have  seen 
incidentally  how  different  an  amount  of  water  is  contained  in 
different  raw  foods,  and  what  must  be  said  now  is  hardly  more 
than  a  recapitulation  of  what  has  been  said,  but  with  a  new 
emphasis. 

If  we  arrange  the  groups  of  foods  which  we  have  been 
considering,  in  a  descending  series,  having  regard  only  to  the 
amount  of  water  they  contain,  we  must  head  the  list  with 
green  vegetables,  the  salad  plants,  green  stems  (for  example 
rhubarb),  and  the  herbaceous  parts  of  plants  generally.  The 
percentage  of  water  in  this  group  is  over  90  and  often  over 
95  parts. 

Most  edible  fungi  have  90  parts  p.c. ;   but  the  truffle  is 


124  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

exceptionally  solid,  and  contains  slightly  less  water  than  the 
potato. 

The  sugary  fruits,  and  "root  vegetables"  (as  they 
are  called),  have  as  a  rule  more  than  80  p.c.  Milk,  game 
and  poultry,  butcher's  meat,  eggs,  and  some  fish  have 
all  as  much  as  or  more  than  70  parts  p.c. 

"  Nuts,"  cream,  and  cheese  have  considerably  less, 
and  may  be  looked  upon  as  intermediate  between  the  foods 
which  we  call  "watery"  (roughly  speaking  three-fourths  water) 
and  those  in  which  the  water  is  less  than  one-fourth  of  the 
total  weight.  Such  are  bacon,  the  cereals,  the  pulses, 
butter,  and  oatmeal. 

In  the  following  series  the  percentage  composition  is  approximate: 
Food  (raw)  Water  in  100  parts 


Green  vegetables 

95 

Fungi  (mushroom) 

90 

Milk 

86 

Sugary  fruits 

80  to  85 

"Root"  vegetables 

75  to  80 

Game  and  poultry 

75 

Eggs 

71 

Butcher's  meat 

70 

Fish 

60  to  80 

"Nuts" 

40  to  50 

Cheese 

34 

Bacon 

11 

Cereals  (usually) 

14 

Pulses 

11  to  14 

Butter 

9  to  10 

Oatmeal 

5 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  amount  of  water  in  raw 
foods  by  no  means  represents  the  amount  in  foods 
as  they  are  eaten.  Mutton  has  more  than  12  times  as 
much  as  freshly  ground  oatmeal,  but  mutton,  when  it  is 
roasted,  loses  water  in  the  process,  while  oatmeal,  made  into 
porridge,  must  often  be  eaten  with  10  times  its  bulk  of  water. 


CHAP.  VII.]          The  Constituents  of  Food.  125 

In  fact,  if  water  is  not  found  in  foods  it  is  taken  with  them ; 
salads,  apples,  tomatoes,  are  eaten  with  no  sensation  of  thirst, 
and  the  Neapolitans  have  a  saying  that  in  the  melon  there  is 
"  something  to  eat  and  something  to  drink  and  quite  enough 
for  washing."  But  dry  flour  or  meal  is  not  thought  of  as  a 
finished  article  of  diet. 

The  question  may  be  asked :  Do  we  lose  by  taking  water 
in  addition  to  foods  instead  of  as  a  part  of  them  ?  If  we  dry 
an  apricot  and,  after  the  lapse  of  years,  cook  it  in  water,  is  it 
like  a  fresh  apricot,  from  a  dietetic  point  of  view  ?  This  ques- 
tion cannot  be  answered  positively;  in  drinking  water,  we 
usually  face  the  possibility  of  bacterial  contamination — less 
serious  if  the  water  is  boiled  or  heated  in  cooking — and  any 
large  dilution  of  food  may  bring  about  slackening  of  digestive 
action  in  the  stomach  of  the  healthy  adult.  But  apart  from 
these  considerations,  the  intimate  admixture  of  water  in  living 
cells,  which  belongs  to  growth,  commends  itself  to  us  as  likely 
to  provide  a  fair  field  for  digestion.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
observation  or  experiment  has  settled  the  point ;  we  know 
far  less  about  it  than  even  about  the  dietetic  importance  of 
inorganic  and  organic  saline  compounds. 


126  [PT.  I. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food. 

§  49.  IN  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  considered 
certain  questions : 

(1)  What  are   those  foodstuffs  which  are   essential   to 
the  well-being  of  the  human  body? 

(2)  What  is  the  action  of  these  foodstuffs  in  nourish- 
ing the  body  ? 

(3)  What  is  the   distribution    of  these    foodstuffs 
in  different  raw  articles  of  food  ? 

It  remains  for  us  to  discuss  here  the  effect  which  cooking 
and  other  preparation  of  food  for  the  table  have  upon  the 
nutritive  value  of  the  foodstuffs  present.  In  discussing  this 
we  are  concerned  with  the  physiological  side  of  digestion 
and  with  its  chemical  side.  For  the  action  of  the  saliva,  the 
gastric  juice,  and  the  pancreatic  juice  is  a  chemical  action,  and 
these  juices,  removed  from  the  body,  will  (under  suitable 
conditions)  digest  in  a  cup  or  glass.  But  the  pouring  forth 
of  these  juices  is  a  physiological  action  (secretion) :  they  are 
made  by  the  living  cells,  and  poured  out  by  them  into  the 
mouth,  the  stomach,  the  intestine ;  and  this  action  can  only 
be  performed  by  living  substance.  Thus  we  have  to  ask, 
A.  How  is  food  affected  by  preparation  as  regards 
the  chemical  action  of  the  juices  upon  it?  B.  How 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     1 27 

is  the  exciting  or  stimulating  effect  of  food  on  the 
digestive  organs  affected  by  processes  of  preparation? 
Does  food  treated  in  the  various  ways  call  forth  an 
abundant  flow  of  secretion?  We  will  make  these  questions 
the  main  divisions  of  the  chapter. 


A. 

i.  We  will  consider  first,  the  relation  between  the  chemical 
action  of  the  digestive  juices  and  the  food  as  it  is  variously 
prepared. 

The  fine  division  of  food. 
§  50.     Under  this  heading  we  may  place : 

(1)  Chewing,  with  such  knife  and  fork  action  as  is 

supplementary  among  many  European  nations. 

(2)  Mincing,  with  which  we  may  associate  braying  (or 

pounding)    in    a    mortar,   and  rubbing  through  a 
sieve. 

(3)  Grating. 

(4)  Whisking  or  beating. 

(5)  Emulsification. 

(6)  Dilution. 

Now  we  may  say  that  all  chemical  action,  at  least  all 
solution,  goes  on  more  rapidly  and  more  thoroughly  when  the 
bodies  concerned  are  finely  divided.  And  this  is  true  of  the 
solution  which  accompanies  digestion.  If  we  take  a  piece 
of  beef,  i  inch  cube,  and  take  the  same  amount  cut  into 
1000  cubes,  it  is  clear  (cp.  above,  §  10)  that  the  fragments  offer 
ten  times  as  great  a  surface, — the  gastric  juice  can  get  at 
them  better, — and  the  conditions,  in  this  respect,  are  highly 
favourable  for  thorough  and  rapid  digestion.  Thus,  all  fine 
division  is  an  aid  to  digestion. 


128  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

(1)  Chewing. 

This  is  really  all-sufficient  to  the  primitive  ancestors  of 
man,  and  the  use  of  the  knife  and  fork  and  all  the  artificial 
modes  of  division  which  are  before  us  belong  to  civilization, 
and  probably  to  artificial  diet,  and  slightly  weakened  digestion. 
But  we  cannot  return  to  the  condition  of  our  tree-inhabiting 
ancestors,  and  thus,  with  advantage,  we  supplement  the 
chewing  of  food.  Nevertheless  it  is  desirable  to  chew  very 
thoroughly ;  the  slow  admixture  of  saliva  aids  in  the  digestion 
of  any  cooked  starch  or  dextrin  in  the  food,  and  even  when 
the  food  is  proteid,  thorough  mastication  is  the  natural 
action  which  prepares  the  way  for  digestion  by  the 
gastric  juice.  A  case  of  death  is  recorded  in  which  death 
was  attributed  to  the  action  of  very  large  lumps  of  beefsteak, 
found  post  mortem  in  the  stomach.  Here  absence  of  chewing 
proved  fatal,  although  the  food  concerned  was  proteid. 

(2)  Mincing. 

By  this  process  the  work  of  chewing  is  forestalled ;  we 
can  see,  then,  that  it  is  a  process  to  which  the  food  of  the 
very  young,  the  very  old,  and  the  weakly  may  be  subjected 
with  advantage.  Pounding  in  a  mortar  and  rubbing  through 
a  wire  sieve  may  be  looked  on  as  extreme  forms  of  mincing : 
in  the  latter,  some  fibre  of  meat  is  necessarily  left  behind, 
and  this  is  not  always  a  gain — indeed  rubbing  through  a  sieve 
belongs  to  aesthetic  rather  than  to  physiological  cookery ;  it 
is  wasteful,  but  gives  a  velvety  texture  to  the  puree  which 
passes  through,  that  is  much  prized  in  the  ingredients  of  cer- 
tain dishes.  Mincing  and  pounding  are  however  invaluable  : 
Scotch  collops,  boudin  of  rabbit,  chicken  panada^ , — in  the  case  of 
all  these,  digestion  is  easier  than  if  roast  beef,  stewed  rabbit, 
boiled  chicken,  were  offered. 

1  To  prepare  these  dishes  with  finish,  it  is  needful  to  rub  through  the 
sieve. 


CHAP,  vill.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     129 

(3)  Grating. 

With  this  we  may  associate  grinding — the  production  of 
flour  and  meal — :  it  takes  the  place  of  mincing,  when  foods 
of  suitable  texture  are  used.  Here  again  the  difference  of 
digestibility  is  marked  ;  coarse  flour  or  meal  is  more  digestible 
than  the  whole  grain  (it  has  been  found  by  experiment  that 
more  of  the  proteids  of  peasmeal  is  absorbed  than  of  the 
proteids  of  peas1),  and  a  fine  flour  is  more  digestible  than  a 
coarse  flour.  Grated  almonds  are,  in  the  same  way,  more 
open  to  the  attack  of  the  digestive  fluids  than  almonds  simply 
broken  up  by  mastication  :  and  grated  cheese  is  far  more 
digestible  than  the  fatty,  compressed,  mass  of  raw  cheese. 
To  lunch  satisfactorily  on  bread  and  cheese  needs  fairly  good 
teeth  and  good  digestion ;  a  cheese  souffle,  or  fondu  has  less 
compressed  nutriment,  but  is  far  more  digestible.  Again,  a 
hard  boiled  egg  is  a  recognised  tax  on  the  civilized  stomach, 
but  in  an  omelette  the  yolk  and  white  of  the  eggs  are  so  inter- 
mixed that  no  large  mass  of  either  remains.  This  intermixture 
however  can  hardly  be  properly  included  under  the  heading 
"  grating  "  ;  it  is  rather  transitional  to 

(4)  Whisking,  beating,  and  aeration. 

We  may  indeed  almost  regard  this  as  a  special  form  of 
grating  or  mincing.  Instead  of  having  solids  separated  into 
tiny  fragments  which  form  a  powder  or  flour,  we  have  glairy 
or  viscid  fluids  beaten  up  into  what  is  practically  a  sponge, 
holding  air.  Thus  the  substance  beaten  is  formed  into  little 
compartments  or  artificial  cells,  all  having  but  thin  walls  and 
all  easy  of  access  by  the  digestive  fluids.  We  may  have 
gelatine  thus  broken  up  (as  in  lemon  sponge],  and  carrying 
with  it  some  nutritious  or  stimulating  matter ;  we  may  have 
frothy  white  of  egg  (raw  white  of  egg  is  difficult  of  digestion 
although  rich  in  nourishment) ;  we  may  have  cream  as  in  any 
of  the  familiar  whips.  The  warmth  of  the  stomach  must  alter 

1  See  above,  §  37. 
B.  9 


130  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

the  condition  of  the  cream  and  gelatine  soon  after  they  have 
been  swallowed ;  still  it  is  a  frothy,  permeable  mass  which 
the  gastric  juice  encounters,  not  an  unbroken  block  of  solid 
or  liquid.  And  because  the  white  of  egg  is  more  glairy 
and  tenacious,  more  susceptible  of  this  "whisking"  than  is 
the  yolk,  therefore  in  souffles,  in  invalid  puddings,  in  delicate 
cakes,  in  an  omelette  soufflee,  the  'white  is  whisked  alone,  and 
mixed  only  at  the  last  moment  with  the  other  ingredients 
which  it  is  to  support  and  make  "light."  It  is  really 
whisking  "with  a  difference"  that  gives  us  the  proper  effect 
in  bread,  cakes,  pastry,  of  all  kinds.  Either  air — as  in  puff 
pastry — or  some  gas — carbonic  acid  gas,  as  in  short  pastry,  in 
cakes,  and  in  bread — is  introduced,  and  what  would,  without 
this  aeration,  be  a  dense  mass,  hard  of  penetration,  becomes 
a  porous  substance  into  which  the  digestive  fluids  can  make 
their  way. 

(5)     Emulsification. 

This  is  the  fine  division  of  fatty  particles  and  therefore  is 
related  to  the  results  of  beating  or  whisking  which  we  have 
just  considered;  the  nature  of  oil  is  such  that  we  cannot 
readily  "froth"  it  as  we  do  the  tenacious  white  of  egg1, 
but  we  can  beat  it  into  minute  particles,  separated  by  air — 
as  in  the  case  of  butter  beaten  to  a  cream — or  by  some 
non-mixing  fluid.  Milk  is  an  example  of  the  latter  form 
of  emulsion,  and  cream  is  milk  containing  a  disproportionally 
large  amount  of  milk  fat ;  cod  liver  oil  is  often  emulsified 
before  it  is  given  to  invalids;  Cremor  hordeatus  and  other 
preparations  have,  as  their  basis,  fat,  thus  made  easy  for 
digestion.  Salad  oil,  if  drunk  without  preparation,  would 
run  into  irregular  masses  in  the  stomach,  and  be  emulsified 
later  by  the  pancreatic  juice ;  in  the  sauces  mayonnaise, 
hollandaise,  and  their  derivatives,  some  of  this  emulsification 
is  done  in  the  kitchen2. 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  cream  we  do  not  deal  with  pure  oil. 

2  See  above,  §  24. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     131 

(6)     Dilution. 

It  is  really  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  natural  food, 
milk,  that  this  process  is  important.  Cow's  milk  is  clotted 
by  the  rennet  of  the  stomach,  and  forms  the  jelly  which  we 
know  as  curds.  But  the  firmness  of  the  jelly  depends  (with 
rennet  of  a  given  power)  on  the  concentration  of  the  milk, 
and  diluted  milk  does  not  dot  firmly.  Now  the  massive  clot 
is  not  easily  digested,  therefore  to  avoid  its  formation  is 
sometimes  desirable  in  the  case  of  invalids  and  infants.  To 
dilute  milk  for  a  baby  with  boiled  water  or  thin  barley-water, 
is  a  very  general  practice,  and  many  invalids  take  diluted 
milk. 

There  are,  further,  certain  processes  which  are  almost  a 
mixture  of  dilution  and  whisking,  the  processes  by  which  a 
syllabub  and  koumiss  are  made.  A  syllabub  is  really  milk, 
frothed  up  with  wine  or  spirit  and  flavouring ;  koumiss  is,  in 
like  manner,  highly  frothy  milk,  but  here  alcohol  and  carbonic 
acid  have  been  introduced  by  the  action  of  yeast  upon  sugar. 
No  solid  clot  is  formed  from  milk  taken  after  this  treatment ; 
koumiss  and  syllabub  are  related  to  fresh  milk  much  as  is 
beaten  white  of  egg  to  the  native  "  white."  We  can  see  that 
syllabub  must  be  a  more  digestible  food  than  raw  milk  or 
than  junket,  and  koumiss — a  stimulant  as  well  as  a  food — 
has  been  used  to  support  life  in  certain  cases  of  great  ex- 
haustion. 

We  repeat  that  in  itself,  the  fine  division  of  foods  is  an 
aid  to  digestion  ;  it  furthers  the  chemical  action  of  the  digestive 
fluids. 

2.     The  effect  of  heat  upon  foods. 

§  51.  All  digestion  of  food  by  man  is  best  carried  out  at 
the  temperature  of  the  human  body  (36*9°  C.);  such  moderate 
warmth  is  wholly  beneficial  both  to  the  chemical  action  of 

9-2 


132  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

solution,  and,  as  we  shall  see  later,  to  the  pouring  out  of  the 
digestive  juices.  What  concerns  us  now  is  the  effect  upon 
subsequent  digestion  of  a  much  greater  degree  of 
heat,  applied  to  foods.  We  shall  find  that  this  effect 
varies ;  in  the  case  of  some  foods  heat  aids  digestion ;  in  the 
case  of  other  foods,  digestion  is  hindered ;  occasionally,  foods 
are  deprived  of,  or  made  poor  in,  certain  of  their  constituents 
when  they  are  cooked.  And  there  is  one  action  of  heat  which 
is  not  directly  related  to  digestion,  but  which  has  so  important 
a  bearing  on  nutrition  that  it  must  be  named  here.  This  is 
sterilization.  The  meaning  of  the  term  has  been  explained 
at  length  in  chapter  n.,  but  we  repeat,  that  in  sterilized  tissue 
or  fluid  all  life  is  destroyed ;  therefore  any  bacteria  which 
might  have  been  present  before  heating  are  killed.  The  risk 
of  infection  from  any  disease-producing  bacteria  is  thus  much 
reduced ;  thorough  cooking  is  one  great  safeguard  against 

the  spread  of  disease  by  means  of  food. 

i 

( i )     Heat  as  an  aid  to  digestion. 

All  foods  containing  raw  starch  are  made  digestible  by 
the  action  of  heat.  Raw  starch  is  digested  very  slowly  by 
human  saliva  or  pancreatic  juice;  starch  paste  (or  cooked 
starch)  is  rapidly  digested,  and  dextrin  is  a  bye-product  or  an 
intermediate  product  in  the  change  from  starch  to  sugar. 
When  starch  is  boiled,  stewed  for  a  long  time,  fried  or  baked, 
the  change  to  starch  paste,  or  to  cooked  starch,  takes  place. 
When  dry  heat  is  'used  there  is  often  a  change  to  dextrin 
(see  above,  §  23)  as  well :  this  is  the  case  in  the  crust  of 
well-baked  bread,  of  cakes,  and  probably  in  that  of  pies ;  in 
pulled  bread,  in  toast,  and  in  many  biscuits. 

From  this  point  alone,  we  can  hardly  over-estimate  the 
importance  of  thorough  cooking  of  starchy  foods;  potatoes, 
porridge,  all  breads,  all  milk  puddings,  all  pastry,  and  prepa- 
rations such  as  cornflour,  arrowroot,  revalenta,  lose  greatly  in 
nutritive  value  if  any  starch  is  left  in  the  raw  state.  Thorough 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     133 

boiling,  baking,  or  frying,  or  long-continued  cooking  at  a 
lower  temperature  is  essential.  When  digestion  is  very 
delicate,  then  the  further  change  to  dextrin  is  desirable,  and  it 
is  mainly  to  ensure  this  change  that  doctors  recommend  to 
dyspeptic  patients  thin  toast,  slices  of  dry  bread  "pulled"  or 
browned,  rusks  and  other  highly  cooked  foods.  It  is  a  change 
to  dextrin  too,  that  is  brought  about  in  baking  flour  after  the 
fashion  recommended  for  babies'  food.  Prolonged  heating 
not  only  cooks  the  starch  in  flour,  but  turns  some  of  it  to 
dextrin,  and  the  flour  in  its  altered  state  may  be  mixed  with 
a  baby's  milk  at  such  time  (say  6  months)  as  supplementary 
starchy  food  has  become  desirable. 

The  beneficial  action  of  heat  upon  the  cellulose  of  foods 
is  less  well-established,  but  the  point  is  worth  brief  considera- 
tion. We  have  seen  in  §  28  that  the  digestive  fluids  of  man 
do  not  dissolve  cellulose,  but  that  a  portion  of  what  is  present 
in  food  is  broken  up  by  some  of  the  bacteria  which  always 
inhabit  the  human  intestine.  Probably  this  action  is  not  of 
great  nutritional  importance  and  there  is  no  direct  proof  that 
it  is  furthered  by  the  previous  cooking  of  cellulose.  What 
this  cooking  certainly  does,  however,  is  to  make  limp  and 
flaccid  the  cells  which,  in  uncooked  fruit  and  vegetables,  were 
tense — or  in  the  words  of  botanists,  turgid, — to  rupture  the 
walls  very  generally,  and  to  kill  and  coagulate  the  proto- 
plasmical  contents,  and  to  make  digestible  any  starch  which 
may  be  present.  And  here  we  have  both  a  gain  and  a  loss  : 
the  rupture  of  the  cells,  and  death  of  the  cell-contents  makes 
it  easier  for  all  fluids  and  thus  for  the  digestive  secretions  to 
attack  them,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  coagulated  proteid  is, 
as  we  have  said,  hard  to  dissolve.  And  an  amoeba  sends 
its  digestive  fluid  readily  through  the  wall  of  a  swallowed 
vegetable  cell,  and  readily  dissolves  the  cell  substance  which 
lies  within. 

The  point  is  a  little  obscure,  but  practically  we  know  that 
tomatoes,  apples,  pears,  plums,  are  far  easier  of  digestion  after 


134  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

they  have  been  cooked,  and  none  of  these  contain  starch 
when  ripe.  Thus  the  increase  in  digestibility  must  be  con- 
nected with  action  on  the  cellulose  walls  or  their  watery  con- 
tents. And  of  one  thing  we  are  sure ;  the  disintegrating  and 
softening  effect  is  very  important  indirectly.  The  flesh  of 
chicken  or  the  flesh  of  fish  is  soft  enough  to  be  rubbed  and 
pounded  to  a.  puree  in  the  fresh  state  ;  but  hardly  any  vegetable 
can  be  treated  thus.  It  is  only  after  long  stewing  or  boiling 
that  carrots,  haricot-beans,  artichokes,  chestnuts,  and  many 
other  "  vegetables "  are  sufficiently  soft  to  be  pounded  into 
their  respective  purees. 

It  cannot  be  claimed  that  the  action  of  heat  upon  fats 
furthers  their  digestion  importantly.  It  is  true  that  the  work 
of  melting  the  harder  fats  may,  by  preliminary  heating,  be 
spared  to  the  alimentary  canal,  but  this  is  no  great  gain  as 
compared  with  the  gain  of  previous  emulsification.  And  it 
is  discounted,  when  digestion  as  a  whole  is  regarded,  by  the 
fact  that  melted  fat,  penetrating  the  particles  of  accompanying 
foods,  makes  them  difficult  to  digest.  Hot  buttered  toast 
and  cakes  are,  as  we  know,  unsuitable  for  the  dyspeptic. 

Lastly,  we  must  speak  of  the  action  of  heat  which  is  not 
all  a  gain, — the  action  by  which  solutions,  infusions,  and 
decoctions  of  food  are  made.  This  is  helpful  up  to  a 
certain  point,  for  liquids  are  easier  to  digest  than  solids, — 
the  digesting  fluids  can  mix  with  them  and  act  on  them 
more  easily ; — but,  if  the  heat  applied  is  great,  then  the  action 
on  proteids  which  we  are  about  to  discuss  takes  place, 
they  do  not  go  into  solution,  or  if  in  solution  they 
are  thrown  down  as  insoluble  substance.  This  loss 
or  precipitation  of  proteids  is  a  serious  loss  from  the  point 
of  view  of  nutrition,  but  other  constituents  do  remain  in  a 
fluid  which  has  been  boiled ;  thus  in  a  decoction  of  meat 
the  salts  of  meat  are  there,  often  gelatine  has  been  formed 
in  the  boiling  from  its  precursor  connective  tissue  (cp.  above, 
§  28),  and  there  are  members  of  that  group  of  substances 


CHAP,  vill.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     135 

known  as  the  "extractives"  of  muscle1.  Of  the  importance 
of  saline  matter  we  have  already  spoken,  and  we  saw  in  §  28 
that  gelatine,  if  it  cannet  be  regarded  as  a  food,  is  at  least 
important  in  affecting  the  chemical  changes  of  the  body ;  it 
is  a  proteid-sparer.  The  extractives  kreatin,  xanthin,  inosite, 
lactic  acid  and  other  complex,  soluble,  organic  bodies,  are  not 
foods,  but  they  have  a  stimulating  action  on  the  body,  com- 
parable rather  to  that  of  tea.  Briefly,  we  may  say  that  so- 
lutions or  infusions  made  from  slightly  warmed  meat  are  both 
nutritious  and  digestible ;  that  decoctions  (and  to  them  the 
various  broths  belong)  are  very  poor  in  dissolved  proteids 
but  are  still  stimulating,  and  are  not  without  their  importance 
in  nutrition.  And  in  all  these  cases  the  body  can  readily  avail 
itself  of  what  the  liquid  concerned  has  to  offer  because  of  its 
existence  in  solution.  If  precipitated  proteids  are  present  (as 
in  the  brown  sediment  common  in  beef-tea)  then,  although  not 
readily  soluble,  their  solution  is  aided  by  fine  division. 

A  word  may  be  added  touching  infusions  and  decoctions 
of  vegetable  matter.  Many  of  these  are  in  no  sense  food,  but 
are  valued  for  their  stimulating  or  medicinal  qualities ;  we 
may  instance  tea,  senna-tea,  bran-tea,  &c.  Others  are  dilute 
starchy  foods,  and  for  them,  thorough  cooking  is  wholly  a 
gain ;  in  this  group  we  may  include  the  various  gruels,  barley- 
water,  arrowroot-water  and  rice-water.  Others  again  contain 
salts,  soluble  organic  substances  and  potent  flavouring,  often 
due  to  some  essential  oil.  In  none  do  we  find  any  important 
amount  of  proteid ;  we  have  seen  earlier  that  although  small 
amounts  of  proteids  are  present  in  all  parts  of  all  plants  it  is 
only  in  certain  reserve  organs  that  the  percentage  is  high,  and, 
whether  the  amount  is  small  or  great  in  the  fresh  state,  the 
proteids  are  made  insoluble  (see  below)  by  that  long-continued 
cooking  which  is  requisite  to  carry  into  solution  the  ingredients 
for  which  most  vegetable  extracts  are  valued. 

1  See  above,  §  32. 


136  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

(2)     Heat  as  a  hindrance  to  digestion1. 

With  the  exceptions  of  albumose.s,  peptones,  and  derived 
albumens,  all  proteids  are  changed  by  the  action  of 
heat.  At  varying  temperatures  they  are  precipitated  from 
their  solutions  and  in  an  especially  insoluble  form  as  coagu- 
lated proteids.  But  albumoses,  peptones  and  derived 
albumens  are  but  rarely  met  with  in  ordinary  food — they 
belong  rather  to  the  products  of  digestion — so  we  may  safely 
say  that  the  great  mass  of  proteidfood  taken  by  man  is  made 
less  readily  digestible  by  cooking.  This  is  true  of  proteids 
whether  boiled,  steamed,  baked,  braised,  or  fried ;  and 
even  stewing  is  rarely  if  ever  carried  out  at  a  temperature 
below  the  coagulating  point  of  albumens  and  globulins.  It 
must  not  be  supposed  that  proteid  food  is  made  actually 
indigestible  by  cooking;  the  healthy  human  gastric  and  in- 
testinal juices  can  still  cope  with  it  successfully;  but,  when 
the  most  readily  digestible  proteid  nutriment  is  necessary, 
then  we  give  meat-juice,  raw-beef  tea,  or  raw  scraped  and 
pounded  meat,  spread  into  sandwiches.  And  it  is  advantageous 
that  at  all  times  proteid  matter  should  not  be  over- 
cooked. To  this  end  stewing  and  braising  are  at  their 
best  carried  out  at  a  temperature  below  the  boiling  point 
of  water;  "boiled"  eggs  if  treated  with  real  care  are  also 
kept  below  the  boiling  point  of  water,  for  all  the  proteids  in 
egg  coagulate  at  or  under  70°  C.  In  roasting,  baking,  and 
grilling,  the  heat  applied  at  first  is  great,  so  that  a  dense, 
coagulated,  outer  layer  or  shell  is  formed;  then,  at  a  lowered 
temperature,  that  gradual  cooking — we  might  almost  call  it  in- 
ternal stewing — goes  on  which  shall  make  tender  all  the  flesh 
bounded  by  this  dense  layer.  And  carefully-made  beef-tea 
is  very  lightly  cooked  (cp.  above). 

1  The  understanding  of  this  paragraph  will  be  clearer  if  §  23  be  re-read 
here. 


CHAP,  vill.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     137 

(3)  Heat  as  an  agent  in  depriving  foods  of  various  of 
their  constituents. 

Loss  of  water.  This  takes  place  in  all  dry  cooking ; 
the  "steaming"  of  toast  as  it  is  made,  is  familiar  and  the 
drying  of  meat  and  bread ;  and  besides  water  which  escapes 
into  the  air,  we  have  water  which  helps  to  form  gravies. 

Loss  of  fat.  All  dripping  is  fat,  lost  to  meat  in  process 
of  cooking.  The  fat  is  melted  by  the  heat,  and  exudes  in 
drops,  from  its  containing  cells.  In  an  analysis  given  by 
Church,  the  composition  of  a  cooked  mutton-chop  with  and 
without  its  own  gravy  and  dripping  are  recorded,  and  in 
this  it  appears  that  6  parts  p.  c.  of  fat  are  lost  in  cooking. 
The  amount  must  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  meat  and  the 
thoroughness  of  the  cooking,  but  the  quantity  of  dripping 
which  accumulates  in  an  average  household  testifies  to  its 
importance. 

Loss  of  salts,  organic  and  inorganic,  and  of  other  soluble 
organic  bodies.  All  those  ingredients  which  we  named 
as  a  gain  to  infusions  or  decoctions  are  a  loss  if  we  consider, 
not  the  broth,  but  the  meat  or  vegetables.  In  fact  what  the 
bouilli  yields  to  the  bouillon,  it  yields  at  its  own  cost.  And 
for  the  most  part,  we  do  not  eat  meat  or  vegetables  which 
have  been  made  to  yield  largely  of  their  substance  to  fluid, 
but  some  loss  is  inevitable  in  the  case  of  all  boiled 
food. 

Burning.  When  food  is  exposed  to  very  great  heat  it  is 
burnt,  and  volatile  compounds,  products  of  combustion,  escape 
into  the  air.  When  the  heat  is  still  great  but  insufficient  to 
burn  completely  we  get  charring  of  organic  matter.  "  Burnt " 
toast,  "burnt"  crust,  grilled  steak  that  bears  the  "marks  of 
the  fire  "  ;  all  these  have  lost  some  of  the  constituents  of  their 
organic  compounds  with  partial  setting  free  of  the  carbon. 
And  short  of  this  point,  we  have  the  formation  of  those 
brown  compounds,  rich  in  flavour,  which  belong  to  the  "  out- 
side" of  browned  meats  or  vegetables.  So  little  is  known 


138  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

of  these  that  we  cannot  say  definitely  that  their  formation  is 
associated  with  loss  of  substance,  but  it  is  highly  probable 
that  this  is  so. 

Loss  of  ferments.  Any  ferments  present  in  food  are 
killed  by  the  action  of  heat  in  cooking,  although  their  death 
may  not  be  accompanied  by  any  actual  loss  of  substance. 
Tripe,  sweetbreads,  oysters — and  with  them  all  animals  not 
deprived  of  digestive  glands — contain  digestive  ferments  when 
they  are  fresh ;  these  are  killed  by  cooking,  and  the  same 
fate  attends  such  vegetable  ferments  as  diastase  or  the  peptic 
ferment  found  in  the  juice  of  the  papaw-tree  ( Carica  papaya). 

We  see,  then,  that  the  relation  of  heat  to  the  digestion  of 
foods  is  complex.  At  a  gentle  heat,  i.e.  at  the  temperature 
of  the  human  body,  all  the  processes  of  human  digestion  go 
on  best,  and  the  same  temperature  is  most  favourable  for 
making  solutions  (watery  or  saline)  of  meat.  But  while  great 
heat  (prolonged  boiling  or  "simmering")  is  all  a  gain  as 
regards  the  digestion  of  starch  (for  it  makes  starch  digestible, 
or  turns  it  to  bodies  still  more  soluble,  dextrin  and  sugar), 
there  are  few  proteids  found  in  foods  which  are  not  made 
less  easy  of  digestion  by  heating. 


3.      The  effect  of  cold  upon  the  digestion  of  foods. 

§  52.  This  is  really  only  important  inasmuch  as  it  lowers  the 
temperature  far  beneath  that  at  which  digestion  goes  on  best. 
Thus,  the  labour  of  warming  food  which  has  been 
eaten,  falls  upon  the  digestive  organs  and  the  blood 
circulating  within  their  walls.  If  a  cream  ice  be  taken, 
the  ice  is  soon  melted,  but  melted  to  a  very  cold  fluid,  and 
though  digestion  does  go  on  slowly  in  the  cold,  it  does  not 
become  energetic  until  the  temperature  is  raised.  It  is,  then, 
inadvisable  to  eat  ices  when  full  digestion  holds  sway,  e.g. 
at  the  end  of  dinner ;  and  large  draughts  of  cold  fluid — water, 
milk,  alcohol — should  not  be  taken  with  food. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     1 39 


4.      The  effect  of  mixture  upon  the  digestion  of  foods. 

§  53-  We  can  see  that  if,  by  mixing,  one  food  is  hidden 
away  in,  or  coated  by  another,  its  digestion  is  hindered  until  such 
time  as,  by  digestion,  or  some  removal  of  the  former,  the  latter 
is  set  free.  This  sort  of  mixing  does  occur  in  frying,  when 
particles  of  (usually)  starchy  food  are  coated  with  fat;  and 
we  cannot  doubt  that,  making  a  dish  more  nutritious,  such 
treatment  does  also  make  it  more  difficult  of  digestion.  Some 
difficulty  in  digestion  is  no  great  drawback  where  the  food 
of  the  healthy  is  concerned,  but  fried  dishes  are  unsuitable 
for  invalids'  diet.  A  mixing  of  foods  which  is  less  intimate 
occurs  when  beef  and  potatoes,  beans  and  bacon,  and  a 
thousand  other  dietetic  combinations  are  eaten,  and  this 
mixing  is  advantageous.  The  earliest  natural  food  of  infant 
man  is  a  mixture,  and  since  all  food  eaten  excites  the  flow 
of  all  the  digestive  juices,  it  seems  that  only  special  reasons 
can  make  it  desirable  not  to  tax  them  all. 


5.      The  effect  of  food  preservatives  upon  the  digestion 
of  foods. 

§  54.  This  varies  with  the  method  of  preservation  :  some- 
times a  large  quantity  of  one  form  of  food  is  the  preservative ; 
this  is  the  case  with  condensed  milk,  to  which  much  sugar 
is  added.  Sometimes  salt  is  in  excess ;  sometimes  the 
meat,  fruits  or  vegetables  are  preserved  by  drying,  or  drying 
with  smoking ;  sometimes  by  excluding  the  air  after  much 
heating;  sometimes  by  the  injection  of  antiseptics.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  salting  and  drying  render  food  less  digestible, 
and  that  antiseptics  do  not  form  a  desirable  ingredient  in 
food ;  the  various  tinned  meats,  vegetables  and  fruits,  con- 
sidered solely  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  preservation,  stand 


140  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

in  much  the  same  relation  to  digestive  activity  as  do  other 
somewhat  over-cooked  foods,  the  cooking  being  that  of  moist 
heat. 


In  the  preceding  paragraphs  we  have  attempted  to  group, 
as  general  statements,  the  most  important  facts  established 
touching  the  relationship  of  cooking  to  digestion.  We  will 
now,  as  a  recapitulation,  treat  the  facts  from  the  opposite  point 
of  view,  and  summarize  the  changes  which  belong  to  the  more 
familiar  processes  of  cookery. 


Boiling  and  Steaming. 

§  55.  Here,  the  outer  layers  of  proteid  food  are  coagu- 
lated by  contact  with  the  boiling  water  or  steam1.  The  inner 
part  of  the  food  is  cooked  more  slowly  (but  still  coagulated), 
protected  from  the  loss  of  its  fluid  constituents  by  the  hardened 
outer  layers.  There  is  a  certain  escape  of  salts  and  soluble 
organic  matter  into  the  surrounding  water  in  boiling ;  in 
steaming  this  loss  is  minimized.  Long-continued  boiling  forms 
gelatine  in  the  connective  (gelatiniferous)  tissue  of  meat : 
and  then  dissolves  it  in  the  surrounding  water. 

Fats  are  melted  and  in  part  set  free  if  boiling  water 
surrounds  the  food. 

Starch  is  burst  and  made  digestible ;  in  prolonged 
boiling  some  starch  becomes  dextrin. 

Cellulose  is  softened,  and  partially  broken  down,  so  that 
it  no  longer  forms  intact  cell-walls. 

1  The  reference  here  is  to  the  cooking  of  fresh  meat ;  salted  meat — 
already  hardened  by  salting — is  placed  in  cold  water  and  heated  gradually 
as  the  temperature  rises  to  the  boiling  point. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     141 

Stewing  and  Braising. 

Here  the  proteids  are  coagulated,  fats  are  melted, 
starch  grains  are  burst  and  made  digestible,  gelatine  is 
extracted.  The  processes  differ  from  boiling  and  steaming 
however,  in  that  a  gentle  heat  is  applied  throughout,  and 
no  effort  is  made  to  form  any  outside  layer  of  quickly  coagu- 
lated proteid.  Occasionally,  flavour  and  aroma  are  developed 
by  a  very  light  frying  which  precedes  stewing  (in  jugged  hare, 
stewed  rabbit,  various  meat  stews),  but  this  is  solely  for  the 
development  of  flavour:  the  gravy  which  forms  in  stew  is 
eaten  with  the  meat,  and  therefore  no  nourishment  which 
passes  into  the  gravy  is  lost ;  there  is  no  need  to  imprison 
it  within  the  meat.  In  braising,  distinct  flavour  is  given  to 
the  meat  by  the  fact  that  it  is  steam  rising  through  vegetables 
which  is  the  cooking  agent.  As  meat,  before  it  is  stewed,  is 
lightly  fried,  so  meat,  after  it  is  braised,  is  crisped  by  dry  heat ; 
but  before  this  happens  there  has  been  no  effort  to  imprison 
the  "juices"  of  meat. 

Roasting  and  Baking. 

These  are  brought  about  by  dry  heat  either  in  the  oven 
or  before  a  fire ;  as  in  boiling,  a  crust  of  coagulated  substance 
is  formed  on  the  outside,  and  the  inner  portions  are  stewed 
more  slowly  within  this ;  proteids  are  coagulated,  fat  is 
melted  and  partially  escapes,  gelatine  is  formed,  and  also 
partially  escapes.  And  there  is,  further,  a  surface  change 
which  we  call  "browning,"  which  carried  far  enough  is 
"burning."  This  produces  savoury  but  probably  indigestible 
compounds  from  the  meats,  sweets,  and  vegetables  concerned ; 
and  makes  food  cooked  in  this  way  more  appetizing,  but,  on 
other  grounds,  less  suitable  for  weak  digestions.  Starch  is 
made  soluble  by  roasting  and  baking  and  is  partly  turned 
to  dextrin. 


142  Domestic  Economy,  [PT.  I. 


Grilling  and  Broiling. 

These  are  practically  the  same  process,  and  are  closely 
related  to  roasting.  The  formation  of  the  outer  coagulated 
shell  is  more  complete,  the  escape  of  "gravy"  is  minimized,— 
for  the  heat  applied  is  fierce,  and  the  pieces  of  food  to  be 
cooked  (usually  fish  or  meat)  are  relatively  small,  and  there- 
fore easily  penetrated  by  heat. 


Making  of  Soups  and  Broths. 

We  may  say  that  this  is  the  converse  of  boiling ;  in 
boiling  meat,  we  seek  to  prevent  the  escape  of  its  constituents 
into  the  surrounding  water;  in  making  soup  or  "stock"  we 
seek  to  get  as  much  as  possible  out  of  the  meat  or 
vegetables  and  into  the  fluid.  Thus  the  meat  and  vegetables 
are  cut  into  small  pieces,  are  placed  in  cold  water  (usually 
with  salt),  and  are  slowly  brought  to  the  boil.  This  is  in 
order  that  a  warm,  saline  extract  (which  dissolves  all  that 
water  dissolves  and  more  besides)  may  be  formed,  that  as 
much  as  possible  may  be  dissolved  of  the  various  proteids 
before  their  coagulation  point  is  reached.  When  this  is 
reached  they  are  precipitated  it  is  true,  but  precipitated  in 
small  fragments1  in  the  soup  and  not  coagulated  in  situ  in 
the  meat.  This  coagulation  is  inevitable  if  any  starch  present 
is  to  be  cooked,  and  if  vegetable  cell-walls  are  to  be  softened 
and  disintegrated,  and  the  long-continued  boiling  or  simmering 
which  does  this,  also  carries  on  the  extraction  of  gelatine. 

1  It  is  noticeable  that  in  clear  soup  all  these  proteid  particles  are 
deliberately  removed  by  "clearing";  only  salts,  soluble  organic  substances, 
flavouring  and  an  insignificant  amount  of  gelatine  remain  ;  of  all  soups,  it 
is  the  least  nourishing. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     143 

Fluids   that    "jelly"   have    always    been    subjected    to    long 
cooking,  and  rarely  contain  proteid  food. 

In  a  puree  more  than  the  liquid  extract  is  present ;  the 
liquid  is  thick  with  suspended  particles — the  solids  of 
the  soup  rubbed  through  a  sieve. 


B. 

2.  We  will  turn  now  to  the  second  of  the  main  divisions 
of  the  chapter,  and  consider  the  relation  of  the  cooking  of 
food  to  the  physiological  side  of  digestion,  asking,  How  does 
the  cooking,  or  other  preparation  of  food  affect  the  flow  of  the 
digestive  juices  ? 

§  56.  Food  is  the  most  powerful  agent  in  calling  forth  a  flow 
of  digestive  secretion ;  the  sight,  smell,  or  thought  of  food 
often  makes  the  saliva  flow  abundantly — the  "  mouth  waters  "  ; 
the  chewing  of  savoury  food  calls  forth  not  only  saliva  but 
gastric  juice,  and  that  before  any  food  has  been  swallowed  ; 
the  entrance  of  food  into  the  stomach  arouses  a  flow  not 
only  of  gastric  juice  but  of  pancreatic  juice,  although  the 
pancreatic  juice  acts  in  and  belongs  to  the  intestine  and  not 
to  the  stomach.  In  fact  the  living  constituents— the  cells — 
of  all  the  digestive  glands  are  governed  by  the  nervous  system ; 
they  pour  forth  their  secretion  as  a  result  of  impulses  travelling 
along  nerves.  But  if  we  recall  for  a  moment  such  a  nervous 
impulse  as  that  which  makes  a  striated  muscle  contract,  we 
remember  that  it  may  be  started  directly,  as  by  electrical 
excitation  of  the  nerve  (motor)  going  to  the  muscle ;  or  reflexly, 
as  when  some  nerve  going  to  the  brain  from  an  appropriate 
sensitive  surface  (say  the  retina)  is  disturbed.  The  disturbance 
of  such  a  "sensory"  nerve  sets  up  action  in  the  central  nervous 
system  (brain,  spinal  cord),  one  result  of  which  is  a  further 
disturbance  set  up  in  the  particular  "motor"  nerve  we  are 
considering  (say  the  nerve  to  the  eyelid),  a  disturbance  which 


144  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

travels  down  the  nerve  and  makes  the  attached  muscle  con- 
tract,— as  in  winking.  In  a  similar  way  the  nerves  which  bring 
about,  not  movement  of  muscles  but  secretion  by  glands, 
may  be  excited  directly  but  are  also  called  into  action 
reflexly.  And  it  is  this  reflex  action  that  the  taste,  smell, 
or  sight  of  food  brings  about ;  nervous  impulses  or  dis- 
turbances started  in  the  mouth,  in  the  nose,  in  the  eyes, 
travel  up  to  the  central  nervous  system  and  then  start  other 
nervous  impulses  which  travel  down  to  the  digestive  organs 
and  rouse  the  secreting  cells.  These  cells  are  further  and 
similarly  roused  when  food  is  actually  in  that  part  of  the 
alimentary  canal  to  which  they  belong,  and  digestible  food 
is  more  effective — more  powerful  —  as  a  disturbance,  than 
substance  that  cannot  be  digested. 

These  facts  are  of  importance  because  they  may  be  made 
the  text  of  a  sermon  upon  dainty,  well-finished,  and  appetizing 
cookery.  We  cannot  doubt  that  food  which  is  pleasant  to 
the  sight,  to  smell  and  to  the  taste  is  a  stronger  indirect 
excitant  of  all  the  nerves  which  can  bring  about  flow  of 
digestive  fluids  than  is  raw  or  ill-dressed  food.  Of  course 
the  term  "appetizing"  has  no  absolute  meaning  for  all  men 
and  all  times ;  the  food  that  is  eaten  with  relish  by  the 
Patagonians  and  the  Esquimaux  could  not  be  set  upon  an 
English  dinner-table;  but  its  meaning  for  our  own  race  and 
day  needs  little  explanation.  It  is  to  produce  this  quality 
that  frying,  grilling,  roasting  are  used  so  widely ;  there  is  no 
doubt  that  raw  proteid  food,  minced,  or  extracted,  would  be 
the  most  digestible  form  of  proteid  food1  ;  that  fats — to  this 
end — should  be  warmed  and  emulsified ;  that  starches  should 
be  cooked  by  thorough  boiling.  But  we  sacrifice  something 
of  digestibility  to  the  pleasures  of  the  palate,  and  this,  within 
limits,  rightly,  so  long  as  we  deal  with  digestion  that  is  not 

1  Raw  meat  is  digestible,  but  dangerous  unless  it  is  chosen  with  care; 
it  may  contain  disease-producing  bacteria  and  other  noxious  parasites. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     145 

specially  weakened.  That  pleasurable  sensations  of  smell  and 
taste  should  lead  to  a  generous  outpouring  of  digestive  secre- 
tions is  more  important  than  that  all  food  should  be  submitted 
to  the  action  of  those  secretions  in  its  most  digestible  form. 
It  is  no  hardship  for  the  healthy  to  deal  with  food  that  is 
somewhat  hard  of  digestion,  and  even  insoluble  residues  are 
valuable  up  to  a  certain  point,  in  aiding  the  wave-like  peri- 
staltic movements  of  the  intestines1. 

With  the  food  of  the  very  young,  the  very  old,  and  the 
sick,  the  case  is  different ;  we  deal  with  digestion  by  cells 
which  have  not  yet  grown  strong,  or,  having  been  strong,  are 
now  weakened.  Hence  that  they  should  be  provided  with 
food  which  can  be  readily  absorbed,  is  of  high  importance. 
But  in  order  that  its  work  may  be  well  done,  attractiveness 
is  not  to  be  neglected.  Indeed  the  preparation  of  this  food 
demands  especial  care ;  for  the  admissible  means  of  attraction 
are  more  limited;  "lumpiness"  in  a  cup  of  gruel  or  arrowroot 
is  as  disastrous  from  a  physiological  as  from  an  aesthetic  point 
of  view.  We  remember  that  not  only  is  secretion  of  the 
digestive  fluids  under  nervous  control,  but  there  is  a  nervous 
machinery  which  brings  about  vomiting;  and  distasteful  food, 
promptly  rejected,  can  have  little  chance  of  nourishing. 

The  words  just  written  refer  more  especially  to  changes 
in  texture,  flavour,  &c.,  which  cooking  and  dressing  produce 
in  the  foods  themselves.  And  they  may  be  extended  in  part 
to  the  use  of  flavourings  and  condiments.  These  are 
used  with  care  and  reserve  in  nursery  and  sick  room  cookery, 
and  in  certain  special  cases  their  use  is  to  be  regretted  even 
where  food  for  the  adult  is  concerned.  Thus,  to  eat  vinegar 
with  starchy  food,  is  to  strike  a  blow  at  such  digestive  power 
as  the  saliva  possesses,  and  the  inordinate  use  of  pickles  and 
other  irritating  condiments  inflames  the  mucous  membrane 
(the  internal  surface)  of  the  stomach  and  bowel. 

The  intelligent  eater,  however,  does  not  prize  such  excess, 

1  See  above,  §  28. 
B.  10 


146  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

but  rather  that  delicate  touch  of  flavour  which  is  given  by 
the  restrained  use  of  condiments  and  flavourings.  The  best 
curries  are  not  exceedingly  hot ;  we  should  be  conscious,  but 
not  more  than  conscious,  of  the  presence  of  cloves  and  of 
lemon,  of  vanilla  and  of  tarragon  in  their  appropriate  places  : 
that  flavouring  of  a  sauce  is  most  successful  which,  "half 
suspected,  animates  the  whole." 

§  57-  We  may  perhaps  illustrate  these  general  statements  by 
brief  examination  and  comparison  of  a  day's  diet  suitable  for 
convalescence,  and  a  carefully  chosen  dinner  suitable  for  the 
healthy.  The  menu  for  dinner  is  one  taken  from  Sir  Henry 
Thompson's  work  on  Food  and  Feeding. 

Diet  for  convalescent  who  is  ordered  to  take  light  food. 

8  A.M.        Cup   of    cafe    au    lait    or    cup    of    freshly 

infused  tea. 

Toast,  toasted  slowly  and  thoroughly.     But- 
tered when  cold. 

10.30  A.M.     Beef  tea,  cooked  lightly;  fingers  of  dry  toast. 
1.30  P.M.      Fillets  of  plaice  or  sole,   steamed.     Bread 

and  butter  (not  new  bread). 
Sago  pudding  or  baked  apple. 
5  P.M.         Freshly  infused  tea. 

Toast  or  biscuits. 
8  P.M.         Oatmeal  gruel  with  milk  or  Bread  and  milk. 

What  points  are  characteristic  in  such  a  scheme  of  diet  ? 

We  notice  in  the  first  place  that  the  quantities  are  small. 
The  convalescent  is  doing  no  active  work ;  his  digestive  glands 
are  probably  acting  feebly :  we  do  not,  then,  tax  them  severely 
at  any  one  moment;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  intervals 
between  meals  are  shorter  than  is  advisable  in  health. 

In  the  second  place  the  food  is  very  simply  prepared  and 
in  such  fashion  that  easy  digestion  is  aimed  at ;  all  the  food- 


CHAP,  vill.]     The  Preparation  and  Cooking  of  Food.     147 

stuffs  are  present,  but  fats  are  used  with  care.  One  meal — 
luncheon — has  a  fluid  for  its  main  feature,  and  this  if  cooked 
lightly  will  contain  extractives  and  salts  in  solution  and  finely 
precipitated  proteid  in  suspension.  In  the  sago  pudding  the 
yolk  and  white  of  egg  are  separated  and  the  white,  beaten  in 
at  the  last  moment  before  cooking,  gives  porosity  to  the 
whole  mass.  Moreover  the  sago  is  "  fine "  sago  and  cooked 
thoroughly.  It  is  fine  oatmeal  also  that  is  used  for  the  gruel, 
and  of  this  only  the  finest  part;  all  the  coarse  particles  are 
allowed  to  "  settle  "  before  cooking ;  and  gruel  at  its  best  is  a 
bland,  almost  gelatinous  liquid,  faintly  flavoured  with  sugar, 
lemon,  or,  if  it  be  permitted,  butter.  In  the  baked  apple  the 
cellulose  cell-walls  are  thoroughly  softened  and  much  broken ; 
valuable  organic  salts  are  present  (for  little  is  lost  in  baking) 
and  the  flavour  is  delicate  and  distinctive.  The  toast  is  thin 
and  thoroughly  cooked,  so  that  no  soft  spongy  indigestible 
central  layers  remain ;  and  there  is  change  to  dextrin  in  the 
external  layers. 

Thirdly,  the  tea  is  freshly  infused ;  it  is  long  stewing  of  the 
tea  which  gives  it  the  constituents  most  harmful  to  digestion ; 
tea  which  has  infused  only  for  two  minutes  is  as  refreshing  and 
stimulating  as  the  tannin-laden  product  of  a  day's  "stewing." 
The  nutritive  value  of  cafe  au  lait  is  considerable,  thanks  to 
the  milk  it  contains,  and  probably  the  coffee  diluted  by  milk  is 
less  potent  as  a  nerve  stimulant  than  if  taken  strong,  and  black. 

Menu  of  Dinner. 

Soup.  Paysanne. 

Fish.  Fillets  of  turbot  a  la  ravigote. 

Remove.  Braised  veal  and  macedoine  of  vegetables. 

Entree.  Scalloped  oysters. 

Roast.  Wild  duck. 

Entremets.  Stewed  celery  in  gravy. 

Apricots  with  rice. 

Savoury.  Caviare. 


148  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

We  notice  first  that  a  clear  soup  introduces  the  dinner. 
Now  a  soup,  cleared  by  modern  methods,  is  exceedingly  poor 
in  nourishment ;  but  it  is  pleasant  to  the  eye  and  palate,  and 
slightly  stimulating.  Useless  as  a  meal  alone,  therefore,  it  is 
a  fitting  introduction  to  an  abundant  dinner. 

In  the  second  place  we  see  that  hardly  any  article  of  food 
in  this  menu  is  prepared  without  dressing  or  accompaniment ; 
only  the  wild  duck  stands  alone,  complete  in  itself.  That 
oysters  should  be  served  in  any  way  but  au  naturel  may  be 
regretted  by  some  diners,  and  there  is  undoubtedly  a  loss  of 
digestibility  in  cooking :  but  on  the  other  hand  cooked  oysters 
are  less  dangerous  as  a  source  of  bacterial  infection.  The 
dressing  of  the  veal  is  all  a  gain ;  veal  is  the  somewhat 
indigestible  flesh  of  an  immature  animal,  less  full-flavoured 
than  mature  meats ;  and  the  slow  cooking,  in  fragrant  vapours 
from  vegetables,  is  a  happy  treatment.  The  final  crisping  by 
"  top-heat "  probably  lessens  digestibility,  but  is  certainly 
welcome  to  the  palate. 

Thirdly,  we  see  that  the  amount  of  food  offered  is  large ; 
such  a  meal,  taken  in  its  entirety,  should  follow  a  long  period 
(say  five  hours)  of  abstinence  from  food,  a  period  which  also 
includes  some  form  of  activity.  The  menu  is,  however,  a 
thoroughly  good  one  of  its  kind ;  there  is  hardly  a  dish  in  it 
(with  the  exception  of  the  veal  and  the  almost  negligible 
caviare)  which  might  not  be  offered  singly  to  a  convalescent 
somewhat  more  advanced  than  the  invalid  we  have  imagined 
above.  There  is  change  of  "colour"  in  the  dishes,  there  is 
variation  of  flavour;  the  excellence  of  the  simple  roast  is 
allowed  its  full  effect;  the  entremets  are  simple. 


CHAP.  IX.]  149 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Clothing. 

§  58.  To  deal  with  clothing  as  an  adornment,  demands 
an  excursion  into  the  domain  of  aesthetics  which  would  be 
out  of  place  here.  We  will  therefore  consider  clothing  only 
from  the  point  of  view  of  utility. 

In  this  consideration  we  will  divide  the  subject  into  two 
main  sections,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  division 
is  purely  arbitrary  and  made  only  for  convenience  of  dis- 
cussion. 

The  first  section  (A)  deals  with  the  mechanical  effects  of 
clothing;  the  second  section  (B)  with  its  physiological  effects. 
In  one  sense,  indeed,  the  mechanical  effects  are  physiological 
also,  for  they  are  only  important  to  us  in  as  far  as  they  help 
or  hinder  physiological  processes ;  but  in  the  sense  in  which 
we  shall  take  the  words,  the  distinction  is  just,  for  the  physio- 
logical effects,  grouped  together  in  section  B,  are  direct ; 
whereas  the  effects  described  in  section  A  are  mechanical 
directly,  and  indirectly,  physiological. 


A.     The  mechanical  effects  of  clothing. 

§  59-  We  distinguish  here  the  effects  of  weight  and  of 
pressure,  and  we  may  note,  in  passing,  that  these  effects 
are  largely  independent  of  the  nature  of  the  materials 
of  which  clothes  are  made.  A  very  tight  garter  may 


150  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

be  made  of  silk,  of  wool,  of  cotton,  or  of  leather :  as  far  as 
the  pressure  it  exerts  is  concerned,  the  effects  are  the  same 
in  each  case.  A  gown  may  carry  many  pounds'  weight  of  jet, 
or  it  may  be  weighted  round  its  edge  with  lead :  a  slight 
difference  in  mechanical  effect  is  produced,  because,  in  the 
former  case,  the  weight  is  more  evenly  distributed ;  but  this 
difference  is  unimportant  compared  with  the  total  effect  in 
each  case. 

Effects  of  pressure. 

§  60.  Pressure  is  exerted  by  all  clothing  that  binds  or 
confines.  We  ought  strictly  then,  to  speak  of  all  "fitting" 
clothes.  But  for  practical  purposes  we.  need  only  speak  of 
clothes  which  sometimes  exert  excessive  pressure, — of  garters, 
collars,  belts,  boots,  stays, — and  with  the  last-named  we  may 
count  such  a  garment  as  a  tight  and  heavily  whaleboned 
bodice.  How  do  these  garments  act?  In  the  first  place, 
when  organs  can  be  displaced,  the  pressure  displaces 
them.  There  is  probably  hardly  an  adult  foot  in  England 
among  the  "well-shod"  which  shows  the  great  toe  and  the 
second  toe  in  the  relative  positions  in  which  they  stand  on 
the  foot  of  a  healthy  baby ;  in  a  baby  the  great  toe  is  almost 
"  opposable,"  that  is,  it  can  almost  be  used  as  a  thumb  is 
used,  but  after  long  practice  of  the  habits  of  civilized  life  this 
power  is  lost,  and  the  use  of  boots,  which  are  so  unlike  the 
foot  in  shape,  often  crushes  together  the  first  and  second  toes. 
The  organs  in  the  abdomen,  and  to  a  less  degree  those  in  the 
chest,  can  also  be  displaced  ;  so  it  comes  about  that,  when 
tight  waist-belts  or  stays  are  constantly  worn,  the  diaphragm 
has  not  its  right  play,  the  lungs  are  pressed  upwards,  expand 
feebly  themselves,  and  probably  impede  the  heart;  the  liver, 
stomach,  and  bowel  do  not  have  their  natural  relations'. 

1  In  a  somewhat  different  way,  unnatural  pressure  is  set  up  by  the  use 
of  high  heels  to  boots.  This  pressure  alters  the  range  of  action  of  the 
striated  muscles  of  the  foot  and  leg,  and  upsets  the  healthy  balance  or 


CHAP.  IX.]  Clothing.  151 

In  the  second  place,  pressure  has  very  important  action 
upon  the  blood-vessels  of  the  body.  We  remember  that  the  heart 
does  hard  work ;  that  it  drives  the  blood  through  the  arteries, 
through  the  minute  capillaries  (which  offer  great  resistance 
to  the  flow),  through  the  widening  veins,  back  to  itself, — for 
the  circulation  is  a  closed  circuit 

We  remember  too  that  the  arteries,  even  down  to  their 
small  branches,  the  arterioles,  are  highly  muscular,  that 
they  grow  narrow  and  widen  through  the  contraction  and 
relaxation  of  the  unstriped  muscles  in  their  walls.  Now  the 
proper  circulation  of  the  blood  depends  on  the  one 
hand  upon  efficient  action  of  the  heart,  and  on  the 
other  hand  upon  the  healthy  condition  and  efficient 
action  of  the  walls  of  the  blood-vessels.  In  the  healthy 
condition,  and  with  a  good  heart-beat,  the  capillaries  allow 
interchange  between  the  blood  within  their  delicate  walls  and 
the  tissues  outside,  and  one  important  outcome  of  this  inter- 
change is  the  formation  of  lymph.  Lymph  is  the  fluid  which 
moistens  all  the  cells  of  the  body,  and  is  at  once  the  medium 
by  which  they  are  supplied  with  food,  and  drained  of  waste 
matters.  The  healthy  arteries  are  delicately  responsive  to 
the  needs  of  that  part  of  the  body  in  which  they  run ;  and 
under  the  stimulus  of  nerves,  they  narrow  or  widen  according 
as  a  scanty  or  abundant  blood-supply  is  desirable  for  the 
moment.  Moreover,  by  means  of  the  nerves  which  run  to  and 
fro  between  themselves  and  the  central  nervous  system,  there 
is  ready  interaction  among  all  the  arteries  of  the  body :  so 
that  (for  example)  events  taking  place  in  the  brain  may  affect 
the  condition  of  the  small  arteries  in  the  intestine.  The 
healthy  veins  play  a  more  passive  part ;  they  can  shrink  and 
expand  slightly,  and  so  accommodate  themselves  to  varying 
quantities  of  blood,  but  they  are  to  be  looked  upon  primarily 

relation  between  various  muscles  of  the  abdomen  and  the  back,  and 
secondarily,  by  the  consequent  unnatural  attitude  of  the  back,  may  affect 
the  nervous  system  generally,  and  even  the  sight. 


152  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  i. 

as  channels  by  which  the  blood  can  return  freely  to  the  heart ; 
it  is  of  the  first  importance  that  they  should  be  patent  or 
open  tubes,  i.e.  that  this  return  of  the  blood  should  be  easy 
and  complete. 

Now  of  these  blood-vessels,  the  arteries  are  probably  the 
least  affected  by  external  pressure ;  they  do  not  generally  run 
near  the  surface  of  the  body,  and  their  walls  are  made  stout 
by  the  presence  of  muscular  and  elastic  fibres.  The  ca- 
pillaries are  pressed  upon  when  the  organs  in  which  they  run 
are  compressed,  but  it  is  the  veins — thin-walled,  and  lying 
comparatively  near  the  surface — which  are  the  first  to 
feel  pressure  from  the  outside. 

When  tight  boots  or  tight  gloves  are  worn,  capillaries  of 
the  hand  or  foot  are  narrowed,  for  the  tissues  in  which  they 
run  are  compressed.  Cold  hands  and  cold  feet  are  the  result 
of  this,  for  it  is  abundant  and  vigorous  blood-supply  which 
gives  us  the  feeling  of  warmth. 

When  the  pressure  is  on  a  narrower  zone,  i.e.  when  v\e 
have  a  high,  tight  collar,  or  a  tight  garter,  it  is  more  especially 
the  veins  that  are  touched;  swollen  feet  (following  on  excessive 
lymph-formation,  due  to  obstructed  venous  outflow),  varicose 
veins,  and  again,  coldness  of  the  extremities ;  these  are  some 
of  the  penalties  paid. 

Pressure  round  the  waist  or  upon  the  abdomen  needs 
especial  note  ;  excessive  pressure  is,  of  course,  bad ;  the  blood- 
supply  of  the  important  abdominal  organs  is  diminished,  their 
nutrition  is  affected;  digestion,  kidney  activity,  and  other 
physiological  activities  slacken.  But  slight  pressure  does 
aid  in  the  emptying  of  the  great  abdominal  veins;  it  aids 
the  venous  blood-flow  to  the  heart,  it  is  said  even  to  increase 
the  heart's  output.  Must  we  then  accept  or  even  urge  the 
use  of  waist-belts  and  stays  ?  For  the  healthy  human  being- 
No.  If  we  apply  such  pressure,  we  apply  a  pressure  which, 
at  the  best,  does  not  vary  delicately.  The  muscular  walls  of 
the  abdomen  have  always,  in  health,  that  partial  contraction 


CHAP.  IX.]  Clothing.  153 

which  is  known  as  muscular  tone;  and  this  can  be  increased 
or  lessened  with  every  change  of  posture,  with  all  variations 
of  exertion,  or  rest.  To  place  these  muscles  within  some 
rigid  support  is  to  weaken  them  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  make  demands  on  them,  from  childhood  upwards,  for 
unsupported  activity,  is  to  harden  and  strengthen  them,  to- 
gether with  all  the  muscles  of  the  body.  By  means  of  nerves 
they  are  in  intimate  relation  with  the  central  nervous  system, 
and  so,  potentially,  with  all  parts  of  the  body ;  they  are  able 
to  respond  through  nerves  to  varied  nervous  impulses1.  But 
no  waist-belts  or  stays  can  be  thus  responsive  reflexly ;  they 
can  only  be  roughly  adjusted  from  time  to  time.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  that  if  tight  lacing  has  been  a  cause  of  death 
to  some,  others  —  far  more  numerous — literally  strait-laced, 
have  lived  to  be  old.  There  is  no  doubt  too  that  thousands 
to  whom  this  term  cannot  be  applied,  wear  moderately  tight 
stays  and  belts  with  no  clear  injury  to  health.  But  then  there 
are  thousands  of  human  beings  who  hardly  know  what  full 
physiological  life  is,  whose  muscles,  nerves,  glands,  and  lungs 
are  habitually  sluggish  in  action,  and  it  may  be  that  moderate 
constriction  of  the  waist,  while  not  clearly  injurious  to  health, 
has  a  tendency  to  slacken  the  vigour  of  the  .abdominal 
muscles.  There  is  abundant  evidence  that  artificial  support 
of  the  abdomen  and  compression  of  the  waist  are  of  great 
use  when  special  weakness  exists;  we  would  urge  that  this 
support  should  be  kept  in  reserve  for  special  need, 
and  not  be  looked  upon  as  part  of  the  regular  outfit 
of  young  and  healthy  women. 

Effects   of  weight. 

§  61.  Weight,  in  itself,  is  to  be  looked  on  merely  as  a 
special  encumbrance.  Let  us  suppose  that  a  man  of  14  stone 
weight,  walks  20  miles.  He  does  a  great  deal  of  muscular 
work  in  that  walk,  and  the  most  important  item  is  that,  step 

1  See  above,  Introduction. 


154  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

by  step,  he  lifts  14  stone.  Now,  if  he  wears  clothing  which 
weighs  20  Ibs.  the  amount  he  lifts  is  15  st.  6  Ibs.  at  each 
step.  If  the  extra  weight  is  well  distributed  it  is  not  so 
much  noticed  as  if  it  were  represented  by  a  lump  of  iron 
carried  in  the  hand,  for  in  this  case  certain  muscles  are 
specially  and  greatly  fatigued.  Still  the  encumbrance  is  there, 
and  we  all  know  the  rapid  fatigue  which  follows  physical 
exertion  taken  in  heavy  clothes.  And  two  drawbacks,  even 
more  serious,  attend  upon  weight  in  dress.  The  first  is  the 
pressure  set  up  by  unevenly  distributed  weight.  This  belongs 
most  perhaps  to  heavy  skirts,  which  often  drag  upon  the  waist 
and  hips.  The  second  is  volume.  Voluminous  sleeves,  and 
voluminous  skirts  are  both  sources  of  inconvenience,  but, 
when  the  volume  of  a  skirt  takes  the  form  of  excessive  length, 
then  (for  walking)  it  is  an  unmitigated  evil.  We  may  say 
that  rear  cleanliness  is  incompatible  with  the  use 
of  long  walking  skirts.  Even  when  such  skirts  are  lifted 
with  care,  there  are,  almost  certainly,  moments  in  which  they 
fall  to  the  ground,  and  the  practice  of  allowing  them  to  trail 
along  a  street  or  road  is  absolutely  indefensible.  We 
have  urged  elsewhere  (§  n)  that  the  surface  of  the  earth  is 
covered  with  dust,  dust  of  mingled  and  often  harmful  nature. 
Among  this  dust  in  every  large  town  are  bacteria  of  most 
varied  powers — often  disease-producing  —and  light  fragments 
of  dried  excreta  of  man  and  of  other  animals— healthy  and 
unhealthy.  The  trailing  skirt  whirls  this  filthy  dust  into  the 
air,  to  be  breathed  not  only  by  the  wearer,  but  by  defenceless 
passers-by.  It  is  also  carried  home  clinging  to  the  skirt, 
scattered  into  the  air  there  by  "  brushing  the  dress,"  and  pro- 
bably brought  into  contact  with  other  clothes.  We  can  hardly 
picture  the  end  of  the  disasters  that  may  follow.  Garments 
which  trail  in  the  streets  should  certainly  be  counted  among 
the  carriers  of  disease. 

§  62.     In  the  foregoing  paragraphs  we  have  spoken  chiefly 


CHAP.  IX.]  Clothing.  155 

of  women's  dress  because  the  mechanical  effects  of  clothing 
(we  might  almost  say  the  mechanical  defects)  are  more  notice- 
able in  the  case  of  women.  The  scheme  of  a  man's  dress 
is,  roughly,  arrangement  in  layers,  with  suspension  from  the 
shoulders,  and  the  addition  of  some  extra  layers  on  the  body. 
And  this  type  of  dress  commends  itself,  although  the  con- 
ception is  often  better  than  the  execution,  and  although  the 
whole  costume  is  often  marred  by  such  a  detail  as  a  high, 
stiff  collar.  It  is  not  suitable,  however,  for  great  physical 
exertion,  and,  as  we  know,  the  coat  and  waistcoat  are  often 
discarded  in  such  conditions.  Another  preparation  for  exertion 
is  the  replacing  of  the  braces  by  a  belt,  and  that  this  should 
be  a  change  for  the  better  is  strange,  from  a  woman's  point 
of  view.  We  are  accustomed  to  think  that  suspension  of 
clothing  from  the  shoulders  is  the  mechanical  ideal ;  it  may 
be  that  the  difference  in  judgment  is  the  expression  of  some 
discomfort  proper  to  braces,  and  not  to  garments  hung  from 
the  shoulder,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  is  the  result  of  real 
unlikeness  in  the  conformation  of  the  waist  and  hips  of  men 
and  women. 


B.     The  physiological  effects  of  clothing. 

§  63.  In  considering  these  effects  we  have  to  deal  equally 
with  the  dress  of  women  and  men.  Moreover  the  material 
of  which  the  clothing  is  made  is  of  greater  importance 
than  its  arrangement.  For  the  great  physiological 
effect  of  clothing  is  the  checking  of  loss  from  the 
surface  of  the  body,  and  different  materials  act  very 
differently  in  this  direction1. 

Now  the  loss  from  the  surface  of  the  body  is  in  the  first 
place  a  loss  of  heat,  and  in  the  second  place  a  loss  of 
substance.  And  the  substance  lost  is  varied  in  nature; 

1  See  above,  §  12. 


156  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

it  is,  firstly,  that  complex  fluid  to  which  the  name  of  sweat 
or  perspiration  has  been  given — water  holding  in  solution 
inorganic  and  organic  salts — ;  secondly,  fatty  matter  from  the 
sebaceous  glands ;  thirdly,  epidermal  scales,  that  is,  fragments 
of  skin,  rubbed  off  from  the  surface. 

Let  us  examine  these  processes  a  little  more  nearly. 

Loss  of  heat.  We  know  that  the  temperature  of  a  healthy 
warm-blooded  animal  is  approximately  constant.  Heat  is 
generated  by  all  metabolism,  that  is  to  say  by  all  the  chemical 
changes  in  the  living  body.  Heat  is  lost  by  warming  food 
and  the  egesta,  by  warming  the  air  expired  from  the  lungs, 
but  mainly  from  the  skin.  The  loss  from  the  skin  is  a  loss 
by  evaporation,  by  radiation,  and  by  conduction.  Thus  there 
are  in  the  body  two  great  antagonistic  areas,  a  warming  in- 
ternal area  and  a  cooling  skin  area,  and  the  blood  gains  heat 
in  the  one,  loses  it  in  the  other,  and,  by  means  of  nerves,  is 
directed  now  to  the  one  area,  now  to  the  other,  as  the  needs 
of  the  body  demand.  We  at  once  recall  illustrations  of  this. 
If  the  surrounding  air  is  very  cold  the  blood  is  withdrawn 
from  the  skin  area  (in  obedience  to  nervous  impulse)  and 
circulates  chiefly  through  the  warming  internal  area  (muscles, 
glands,  &c.) ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  great  muscular  exercise 
be  taken  and  the  production  of  heat  by  metabolism  be  in- 
creased, the  vessels  of  the  skin  dilate,  blood  passes  freely 
through  the  cooling  area  which  they  form  and  so  there  is 
compensating  loss  of  heat.  Now,  a  relatively  bloodless  skin 
gives  us  the  sensation  of  cold ;  when  the  skin  is  flushed  we 
"  feel  hot " ;  it  must  be  remembered  then  the  sensation  of 
cold  arises  when  loss  of  heat  is  really  being  lessened,  while 
the  sensation  of  warmth  arises  when  the  loss  of  heat  from 
the  skin  is  great. 

Loss  of  substance.  The  substance  which  is  lost  from  the 
skin  is  waste  matter.  The  epithelium  scales  are  the  remnants 
of  what  were  once  living  cells  of  the  skin ;  the  fatty  matter 
of  the  sebum  has  been  used  as  lubricant  for  the  hairs  and 


CHAP.  IX.]  Clothing.  157 

the  surface  of  the  body  generally ;  the  sweat  carries  off  waste 
matter  which  springs  from  chemical  changes  in  the  tissues. 
The  amount  of  sweat  excreted  varies  greatly,  but  it  has  been 
estimated  as  2  to  20  litres  per  day. 

We  have  said  that  clothing  checks  loss  from  the 
skin  ;  is  this  action  advantageous  or  disadvantageous  ? 

In  certain  conditions  the  checking  of  loss  of  heat  is  a  great 
gain.  The  chilling  effect  of  very  cold  air  upon  the  skin 
would  be  dangerous  to  the  naked  human  being1.  However 
great  the  withdrawal  of  blood  to  the  great  internal  heating 
area,  it  would  not  be  sufficiently  warmed  in  ordinary  meta- 
bolism to  prevent  serious  disturbance  of  health.  In  the  case 
of  many  warm-blooded  animals,  fur  or  feathers  protect  from 
such  disaster ;  man  protects  himself  in  cold  climates  by 
garments  which  prevent  loss  of  heat 

(a)  by  their  own  thickness, 

(b)  by  their  non-conducting  properties, 

(c)  by  the  fact  that  they  enclose  strata  of  fairly  warm 
air,  which  air  is  more  or  less  stationary. 

When  metabolism  is  greatly  increased,  the  need  for  clothing 
is  less  :  thus  the  crew  of  a  racing  boat  are  quite  warm  when 
they  have  "rowed  a  course  "  in  winter,  although  their  clothing 
is  scanty.  Conversely,  when  metabolism  is  more  than  usually 
quiet,  and  the  temperature  surrounding  the  body  is  low  (as  in 
sleigh-driving),  abundant,  fur-lined  garments  are  not  too  warm. 
It  is  almost  always  disadvantageous  to  check  the  loss  of  sub- 
stance from  the  skin.  The  epithelium  scales  are  dead  ;  others 
are  ready  to  replace  them ;  the  sebum  and  sweat  are,  as  we 
have  said,  waste  matters.  The  complete  removal  of  all 
these  effete  matters  is  the  ideal  here;  thus,  to  wear 
clothes  is  to  depart  from  the  ideal. 

1  Certain  races,  however,  go  unclothed  even  in  a  severe  climate.  We 
hear  of  the  Patagonians  sleeping  naked  upon  the  snow. 


158  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

The  physiological  effects  of  clothing,  then,  are  mixed : 
there  are,  doubtless,  climates  in  which,  if  these  effects  only 
were  considered,  all  clothing  would  be  rejected ;  in  the  climate 
of  England  and  with  modern  habits  of  life  this  is  impossible, 
but  the  choice  of  clothing  may  be  such  that  the  physiological 
gain  may  be  as  high  as  possible,  the  physiological  loss  as 
low  as  possible.  Let  us  recapitulate  the  conditions  which  we 
should  endeavour  to  satisfy  : 

As  to  the  form  of  clothing: 

(a)  Pressure  should  be  avoided. 

(b)  Weight  should  be  avoided. 

(c)  Contact  with  the  earth  should  be  avoided. 

As  to  the  substance  of  clothing : 

(a)  The  body  should  be  shielded  from  direct  contact 
with  great  changes  of  external  temperature ;  to  this 
end  material  which  conducts  heat  badly  should  be 
chosen. 

(b)  Clothing  should,  as  far  as  possible,  permit  the  free 
passage   of    water   and   excreted   matter   from    the 
skin,  so   that   evaporation  is   checked   as   little   as 
may  be. 

§  64.  What  materials,  shaped  in  what  form,  will  meet  these 
needs?  Any  garment  that  is  loose  (but  not  shapeless),  light, 
and  hung  from  the  shoulders,  is  good  in  form,  provided 
that  (if  for  out-door  use)  it  does  not  touch  the  ground, 
or  hinder  locomotion.  And  this  is  widely  recognized:  the 
suspension  from  the  shoulders  may  be  direct,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  combination,  or  the  Princess  dress^  or  indirect,  as  when 
a  skirt  is  hung  on  to  its  bodice,  or  trousers  upon  braces.  An 
unconscious  acknowledgment  of  the  value  of  looseness  in 
dress  is  found  in  the  lasting  popularity  of  blouses,  and  in  the 


CHAP.  IX.]  Clothing.  159 

shape  and  fit  of  all  flannels  and  "blazers";  and  the  walking- 
skirt  is  probably  gaining  the  recognition  that  has  already  been 
given  to  skirts  for  bicycling,  shooting,  and  hockey. 

We  may  consider  the  materials  of  clothing  first  as  re- 
gards their  warmth-preserving  properties,  and  we  may  first  recall 
the  fact  that  these  materials  are  both  animal  and  vegetable  in 
origin;  wool,  silk,  leather,  kid,  feathers,  fur,  are  derived  from 
animals  and  are  nitrogenous ;  cotton  and  linen  are  made 
from  non-nitrogenous  vegetable  fibre,  really  from  cell-walls. 
The  constituent  threads  of  wool  are  really  hairs  and  have 
rough  irregular  surfaces ;  the  threads  of  silk,  of  cotton,  and 
of  linen  are  variously  shaped  but  of  smooth  outline ;  they 
always  lie  distinctly,  in  the  fabric  which  they  compose,  whereas 
threads  of  wool  may  be  milled  to  form  a  hardly  distinguishable 
mass.  Of  these  materials,  fur  and  feathers  take  the  first  place 
as  warmth-preservers;  next  come  the  various  woollens,  the 
softer  "  wools  "  probably  coming  before  the  harder  worsteds ; 
then  the  silks,  then  cottons  (with  muslin),  and  linens  (with 
cambrics).  Cottons  and  linens  are  poor  warmth-preservers, 
but  their  powers  may  be  heightened  by  suitable  treatment. 
Both  cotton  thread  and  linen  thread  are  manufactured  into 
those  fabrics  which  are  now  widely  known  as  cellular.  The 
manufacturers  of  these  fabrics  claim  that  by  the  tiny  de- 
pressions or  pits  in  which  the  cloth  is  woven,  a  mechanical 
arrangement  is  made  which  imprisons  a  layer  of  almost 
stationary  warm  air  next  the  body ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that,  from  the  point  of  view  of  sensation,  the  cellular 
cloth  is  much  less  chilling  than  plain  linen  or  cotton  cloth. 

When  we  turn  to  consider  the  permeability  of  materials 
we  must  place  the  woollen  fabrics  first.  Doubtless  they  differ 
among  themselves,  but  they  are  all  more  permeable  than  silk, 
cotton,  or  linen.  Among  the  cottons  and  linens,  the  cellular 
cloths  must  be  counted  as  exceptionally  permeable,  as  we 
have  just  seen  they  are  (for  cotton  and  linen  respectively) 
exceptionally  warm.  Fur  and  feathers  (which  head  the  list 


160  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  I. 

when  warmth  is  the  property  considered)  are  not  permeable 
forms  of  clothing ;  for  they  are  mounted  on  dead  skin,  and  that 
has  been  subjected  to  a  form  of  tanning.  Now  tanning  makes 
the  skin  durable,  and  pliable,  but  relatively  impervious,  so  that 
all  skins — whether  still  bearing  hair,  or  made  into  leather  or 
kid — do  not  allow  free  escape  of  water  and  dissolved  sub- 
stances from  the  body  of  the  wearer.  Probably  only  one 
article  of  clothing  is  less  permeable  than  they — namely 
mackintosh  (and  with  this  oilskin  may  be  included) — and  this 
allows  so  little  escape  of  skin-excreta  that  it  is  highly  insanitary 
for  anything  beyond  a  narrowly  limited  use,  and  its  properties 
as  a  warmth-preserver  are  rightly  disregarded. 

§  65.  It  would  seem  then,  that,  when  the  utility  of  clothing 
is  considered,  the  woollen  materials  stand  easily  first  in  ad- 
vantage. They  may  be  light  in  weight,  they  are  poor  con- 
ductors of  heat,  they  are  readily  permeable;  thus,  while 
retaining  heat,  they  do  not  check  excretion.  There  is 
however  one  great  drawback  attending  upon  the  use 
of  wool.  It  forms  fabrics  which  shrink  readily;  they  must 
always  be  washed  with  great  care,  and  they  cannot  be 
boiled  without  lasting  damage.  Therefore  woollen  garments 
may  be  a  serious  source  of  infection.  If  they  come  in  contact 
with  disease-producing  bacteria  it  is  very  difficult  to  free  them 
from  these.  Special  methods  of  disinfection  there  are,  but 
the  safe  and  ready  method  of  sterilizing  by  boiling  cannot  be 
used  ;  and  the  practice  of  wearing  cotton  dresses  for  nursing 
is  hygienically  sound. 

Even  for  the  healthy  we  are  not  prepared  to  urge  the 
constant  use  of  loose,  light,  short,  woollen  garments,  varying 
in  number  with  the  time  of  year.  Man  is  a  creature  of  a 
hundred  occupations;  and  clothing,  which  might  be  suicidal 
in  one  occupation,  is  fitting  or  even  ornamental  in  another. 
In  fact,  in  suiting  the  dress  to  the  occupation,  lies 
the  secret  of  really  rational  clothing.  The  secret  is 


CHAP,  ix.]  Clothing.  161 

learnt  in  part,  but  as  yet  only  in  part.  There  is  hardly  an 
Englishman  who  would  climb,  or  row,  or  play  cricket,  except 
in  "  flannels,"  or  woollen  clothes  of  some  sort ;  but  all  English- 
men dance  in  the  regulation  shirt,  and  suffer  thereby  at  least 
discomfort. 

It  is  probable  that  the  majority  of  men  dress  more  hygi- 
enically  than  the  majority  of  women.  Faults  of  dress  they 
certainly  do  show ;  they  cling  to  hard,  impermeable  and  un- 
picturesque  hats,  they  line  woollen  garments  with  cotton,  they 
run  to  excess  in  collars.  But  their  garments  are  cleanly  and 
not  voluminous,  and  they  cover  the  limbs  almost  equally  with 
the  body.  The  correct  "  town "  dress  can  be  worn  without 
hindering  quick  walking,  and,  as  we  have  said,  when  real 
exertion  is  taken,  the  town  dress  is  laid  aside. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  dress  of  women  will  be 
less  faulty  as  time  goes  on.  As  increased  physical  activity 
becomes  part  of  the  life  of  girls,  the  effort  to  be  active  in 
unsuitable  dress  will  end  in  the  evolution  of  suitable  garments. 
Indeed  the  change  is  in  progress ;  the  very  general  use  of 
woollen  combinations  —  often  even  high-necked  and  long- 
sleeved — the  adoption  of  stocking  suspenders  instead  of  garters, 
the  substitution  of  knickerbockers  for  an  underskirt  in  walking 
and  bicycling — these  are  all  specimens  of  the  reforms  of  the 
last  twenty  years.  And  it  is  this  sort  of  reform  which  we  would 
urge.  There  can  be  little  harm  in  allowing  a  dinner  dress  to 
trail  over  well-kept  carpets,  and  it  is  all  a  gain  that  its  lines 
should  be  guided  by  long  petticoats,  frilled  or  shaped ;  there 
can  be  little  harm  that  a  man  should  dine  in  a  somewhat 
chilly  and  impervious  shirt  front.  Excessive  changes  of  out- 
side temperature  are  suspended  at  these  times ;  the  metabolism 
of  the  skin,  too,  is  not  active.  But  to  undertake  physical  exer- 
tion in  these  clothes  would  be  a  physiological  as  well  as  an 
aesthetic  sin. 


B.  II 


CHAP.  X.]  163 


PART    II. 

THE  PRACTICE  AND    TEACHING   OF  DOMESTIC 
ECONOMY. 

CHAPTER   X. 

Housewifery :     Hygiene   in   the    House,    Practical 
Housekeeping  and  Laundry  Work. 

§  66.  THE  term  Housewifery  is  defined  as  "  skill  in  the  art 
of  managing  a  home,"  and  covers  all  the  duties  and  knowledge 
expected  from  one  to  whom  the  care  of  a  household  is 
delegated.  The  word  embraces  a  vast  field  of  knowledge, 
an  infinity  of  duties,  from  the  choice  and  furnishing  of  the 
dwelling,  to  the  nursing  and  feeding  of  infants  and  sick  people. 
Of  late  years  Housewifery  has  formed  a  subject  of  instruction 
in  the  elementary  schools  and  is  now  being  taught  in  all 
classes  and  sections  of  the  community.  It  threatened  to 
become  a  lost  art,  and  the  idea  that  "housewifely"  instincts 
are  inherent  and  blossom  naturally  in  every  woman  has 
vanished  before  the  stern  realities  of  the  daily  routine. 

The  House,  its  aspect  and  Construction. 

§  67.  The  House  comes  first  under  this  section.  It  is 
not  possible  in  many  instances  to  choose  a  dwelling-place,  but 
certain  precautions  should  be  observed  in  every  case,  as  the 
health  of  the  inhabitants  largely  depends  upon  the  healthiness 
of  the  house.  It  is  essential  that  the  site  should  be  well 

II— 2 


164  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

chosen,  that  there  should  be  a  good  supply  of  pure  air,  fresh 
water  and  plenty  of  light,  and  that  the  drainage  should  be 
efficient  and  in  good  working  order.     Where   the  choice  of 
a  house  is  possible,   the   question   of  rent  and 
distance   from   the  daily  work    has    to   be  con- 
sidered.    A  house  facing  north  should  be  avoided,  a  south  or 
south-westerly  aspect  is  best,  as  all  the  living  rooms  should 
receive  plenty  of  sunshine,  the  larder  is  the  only  place  that 
benefits  by  facing  north.     For  bedrooms  an  easterly  aspect  is 
not  to  be  recommended,   especially  for   invalids,   who   often 
depend  greatly  on  their  early  morning  sleep  after  a  bad  night. 
The  best  soils  to  live  on  are  gravel,  sandstone 
and  loose  sands ;  clay  and  made  soils  should  be 
avoided.     The  latter  are  often  excavations,  which  have  been 
filled  in  with  town  refuse  and  sweepings ;   if  such  a  site  is 
chosen  a  foundation   of  concrete   should  be  laid,  projecting 
beyond  the  outer  edge  of  the  walls.     Ground-water  should  not 
be  nearer  the  surface  than    10  feet  and   not   be   subject   to 
sudden  fluctuations.    The  next  point  to  consider 

Construction.  ,  .  .         .  n   •    i 

is  the  construction  of  the  house.  Bricks  are 
generally  used  and  if  well  made  are  good  material  for  the 
purpose ;  they  are  porous  and  the  walls  should  be  at  least 
one  and  a  half  bricks  thick.  The  foundations  of  the  house 
must  be  solifl  and  deep  enough  to  give  firmness  to  the 
building.  The  walls  of  no  room  or  cellar  should  be  in  direct 
contact  with  the  soil ;  this  can  be  secured  by  laying  a  damp- 
proof  course  along  the  full  thickness  of  the  wall,  which  is  made 
of  glazed  tile,  slate,  asphalte  etc.  Stone,  sandstone  and  lime- 
stone are  also  used  in  constructing  houses,  they  are  porous  but 
in  a  less  degree.  Wood  is  not  much  used  for  external  building 
parts,  but  enters  largely  into  the  construction  of  the  fittings. 
Timber  for  this  purpose  should  be  close,  straight-grained  and 
well  seasoned.  For  the  roof  tiles  or  slates  are  best,  nailed  on 
a  good  framework,  strong  enough  to  bear  the  tiles  and  a 
certain  quantity  of  snow.  The  gutters  should  be  made  of  lead, 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  165 

and  where  they  join  well  fixed  into  the  brickwork.  The 
eaves  should  always  project  beyond  the  walls  and  be  provided 
with  a  good  gutter  discharging  into  rain  pipes.  These  again 
should  discharge  into  properly  ventilated  rain-water  tanks  or 
over  a  drain  covered  by  a  grating.  They  should  never  be 
directly  connected  with  the  drains  or  sewer,  neither  should  the 
heads  come  beneath  a  bedroom  window.  If  there  are  trees 
near  the  house,  it  is  necessary  in  autumn  to  see  that  the 
gutters  do  not  get  choked  up,  and  after  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  the 
roof  should  be  cleared,  this  is  the  duty  of  the  tenant. 

Floors  are  best  made  of  some  impervious  material  such  as 
wood,  stone  or  tiles,  which  can  be  washed.  The 

11        r         i     11  Floors. 

two    latter   are    suitable   for   halls,    passages    or 

sculleries,  but  are  too  cold  for  living  rooms,  besides  which 

they  do  not  "  give  "  in  the  least  and  are  tiring  to  stand  on. 

Windows  and  doors  should  fit  well,  and  the  former  should 
open  freely   top  and    bottom    and    every  room 
shpuld    be    provided    with    a    fireplace    and    a 
chimney,  as  they  form  the  best  means  of  escape 
of  foul  air. 

Walls  may  be  panelled,  painted,  distempered,  papered  or 
limewashed,  but  in  all  cases  the  surface  should 
be  smooth,  non-porous,  and  the  material  used 
must  not  give  off  any  poison  such  as  arsenic. 
Washing  papers  or  any  that  have  been  varnished  are  suitable 
for  bathrooms  and  lavatories.  In  putting  on  new  papers,  the 
old  one  should  be  scraped  off  first.  If  these  are  left  on  they 
are  liable  to  rot  and  ferment. 

Ventilation. 

§  68.  Ventilation,  as  will  be  seen  in  §§  12 — 16,  is  some- 
thing more  than  providing  for  change  of  air  in  a  house.  The 
windows  of  a  crowded,  overheated  room  may  be  thrown  open 
on  a  cold  windy  night  and  change  of  air  will  thus  be  procured, 
but  discomfort  to  the  occupants  will  result. 


1 66  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

To  sustain  healthy  life,  air  must  be  pure  and  uncontami- 
nated ;  it  can  only  be  sustained  when  atmospheric  air  can 
be  freely  breathed.  Evidence  is  constantly  forthcoming  to 
prove  that  if  air  be  greatly  contaminated  death  results  from 
breathing  it,  and  even  if  not  sufficient  to  cause  death,  it  will 
impair  the  respiratory  organs  or  lower  the  general  health  of 
the  body. 

Movement,  sunlight,  water,  heat  and  cold  are  all  most 
necessary  for  keeping  air  pure  and  healthy.  The  purification 
of  air  b  buildings  is  best  secured  by  efficient  ventilation.  To 
secure  this  two  things  are  primarily  essential,  (i)  an  air  inlet, 
(2)  an  air  outlet.  Constant  care  must  be  exercised  in  order 
that  air  may  not  be  contaminated  either  just  before  or  while 
entering  the  building,  or  after  having  entered.  Openings  too 
must  be  provided  for  its  exit  and  entrance  with  means  for 
regulating  one  or  both. 

The  three  methods  in  general  use  are  : 

1.  The  Plenum  System. 

2.  The  Exhaust  System. 

3.  The  Natural  System. 

Mechanical  means  such  as  the  first  two  are  not  much  used 
for  ordinary  dwellings,  but  should  be  employed  for  buildings 
in  which  many  people  congregate,  as  only  by  mechanical 
means  can  constant  satisfactory  ventilation  be  obtained.  In 
buildings  such  as  schools  where  the  Plenum  System  is  adopted 
(see  illustration),  fans  are  considered  the  most  economical  and 
satisfactory.  A  careful  consideration  of  the  diagram  will  show 
the  method  recently  adopted  for  ventilating  a  large  school. 
The  fresh  air  is  admitted  at  A,  passed  over  coke  filters  B 
before  being  heated  and  propelled  through  the  building  by 
means  of  the  rotary  air  propeller,  a  fan  at  D.  Only  two 
rooms  are  shown,  but  the  same  principle  is  applied  to  all. 
In  ordinary  dwelling-houses  it  is  essential  that  the  ventilating 
appliances  should  be  simple  in  construction  and  easily  regu- 


CHAP.  X.] 


Housewifery. 


1 68  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

lated,  and  that  all  the  flues  and  ducts  should  be  periodically 
cleaned.  The  natural  means  of  ventilation  are  based  on  the 
forces  which  nature  supplies  (see  Chapter  iv.).  When  the 
temperature  is  raised  air  expands,  the  result  being  that  colder 
air  falls  by  the  power  of  gravitation  and  in  so  doing  causes 
the  lighter  air  to  ascend.  It  is  upon  the  variable  movements 
of  the  outer  atmosphere  that  the  ventilation  within  the  house 
is  based.  The  forces  they  exercise  may  be  employed  either 
for  propulsion,  or  for  extraction,  or  both.  In  addition,  when 
houses  are  warmed,  forces  are  developed  within  which  may 
or  may  not  assist  the  change  of  air.  In  England  the  open 
fireplace  is  the  great  feature  in  ventilating  the  house.  The 
amount  of  ventilation  is  secured  not  only  by  the  presence  of 
the  fire,  but  because  of  the  necessity  of  an  opening  to  the 
outer  air.  On  no  account  therefore  should  the  register  be 
closed  when  there  is  no  fire  in  the  grate,  nor  should  anything 
be  stuffed  up  the  flue,  as  the  latter  should  be  regarded  as 
a  most  important  outlet  for  air.  The  regulation  of  the  amount 
of  the  change  of  air  in  an  apartment  is  better  effected  at  the 
inlet  than  the  outlet,  consequently  all  inlets  should  be  capable 
of  easy  regulation ;  in  the  case  of  a  fireplace  this  is  effected 
by  means  of  the  register.  Ordinary  dwellings  in  England  are 
frequently  warmer  than  the  outer  atmosphere,  consequently, 
unless  each  room  receives  a  separate  and  adequate  supply  of 
air  from  the  exterior  there  is  risk  of  down-draught  in  some 
flues,  particularly  if  others  are  more  lofty.  In  order  to  obviate 
"  smoky  chimneys "  it  is  necessary  to  have  air  inlets.  As 
change  of  air  is  essential  to  ventilation,  there  must  be  move- 
ment of  air,  but  when  the  movement  is  too  rapid,  draughts 
ensue. 

The  size,  nature,  and  position  of  inlets  and  outlets  must 
be  carefully  considered.  The  principal  outlet  is  generally,  as 
has  been  pointed  out,  the  fireplace  flue,  and  if  the  inlet  is 
placed  on  the  same  side  of  the  room  as  the  outlet  the  risk 
of  setting  up  draughts  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  unless  the 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  169 

incoming  air  is  at  a  very  low  temperature.  Special  inlets 
other  than  doors  and  windows  should  be  situate  at  about 
two-thirds  the  height  of  the  room  and  be  so  shaped  as  to 
give  the  incoming  air  an  upward  tendency.  In  order  to  decide 
upon  the  position  of  a  special  air  inlet  it  is  important  to  ascer- 
tain the  direction  of  the  air-current  in  the  room.  This  may  be 
done  by  employing  volatile  essences  such  as  oil  of  peppermint 
or  by  using  smoke,  but  the  most  simple  method  is  to  hold 
a  lighted  taper  which  will  be  useful  as  a  test  by  observing  the 
deflection  of  the  flame.  Tobin  tubes  have  been  largely  used 
for  air  inlets,  but  they  are  usually  fixed  so  as  to  cause  much 
discomfort  and  are  consequently  closed  up.  Another  inlet  is 
known  as  the  Louvre  regulator,  and  when  placed  on  the  same 
side  of  the  room  as  the  fireplace  is  by  far  the  best  air  inlet. 
As  a  rule  inlets  are  too  small,  and  when  the  extract  power 
in  the  outlet-flue  is  considerable,  air  enters  with  too  great 
velocity  and  causes  draughts.  The  Sheringham  air  inlet  ne- 
cessitates a  hole  through  an  outer  wall  with  a  grating  on  the 
outside,  and  an  inner  frame  provided  with  a  hinged  flap 
weighted  so  that  when  a  weight  attached  to  a  cord  is  raised 
the  flap  may  be  opened  at  will.  The  most  simple  arrange- 
ment and  one  which  may  be  used  by  all  is  the  fixing  of  a 
board  or  deep  bottom  rail  to  an  ordinary  double-hung  sash 
which  permits  of  the  window  being  opened  to  allow  air  to 
enter  at  the  meeting  rails.  The  object  of  all  these  contrivances 
is  to  admit  air  so  as  to  cause  diffusion  throughout  the  apart- 
ment and  to  avoid  a  direct  current  or  draught. 

Heating  and  Lighting. 

§  69.    The  chief  requirements  of  a  good  system  of  warming 
are  the  following : 

1.  The  apparatus  should  produce  and  keep  up  an  equable 
warmth  all  over  the  building  or  at  least  over  every  part  of  a 
given  apartment. 

2.  It  should  not  vitiate  the  air  in  any  way. 


170  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

3.  It  should  not  lessen  the  humidity  of  the  air. 

4.  It  should  not  require  skilled  attention  or  be  likely  to 
explode  or  cause  damage  to  property. 

5.  The  apparatus  should  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  pro- 
mote ventilation. 

Modern  houses  of  any  size  are  heated  either  by  hot  water 
or  by  hot  air,  and  in  taking  a  house  it  is  well  to 
ascertain  that  the  heating  apparatus  is  in  good 
working  order.  In  heating  by  hot  water,  the  pipes  should  be 
protected  from  frost  and  the  flues  and  boiler  kept  clean :  hard 
water  furs  the  inside  and  causes  the  pipes  to  choke.  The 
chief  objection  to  the  use  of  air  as  a  means  of  warming  a  room 
or  house  is  the  fact  that  heated  air  is  often  unpleasantly  dry. 
Open  fireplaces  heat  a  room  very  unequally,  but  are  cheerful 
and  ensure  ventilation.  They  should  be  constructed  with  as 
much  firebrick  as  possible  to  retain  the  heat,  and  the  space 
beneath  the  fire  should  be  closed  in  front  by  a  close-fitting 
iron  shield  or  "  economizer,"  this  secures  as  complete  combus- 
tion as  possible  of  the  fuel  at  the  bottom  of  the  fire  by  the 
exclusion  of  cold  air. 

Artificial  lighting  may  be  supplied  by  gas,  lamps  or  candles, 
all  of  which  require  a  considerable  amount  of 
oxygen  and  vitiate  the  air.  Coal  gas  when 
burned  produces  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  each  cubic  foot'  in 
burning  consumes  8  cubic  feet  of  air  in  one  hour.  It  is  liable 
to  explode  on  the  approach  of  a  light.  When  there  is  an 
escape  of  gas,  which  may  be  readily  detected  by  the  smell,  all 
the  doors  and  windows  should  be  opened  before  taking  a  light 
to  find  out  the  cause.  In  the  absence  of  a  plumber  the  leak 
may  be  stopped  temporarily  with  soap,  but  the  pipe  should  be 
repaired  as  soon  as  possible.  Incandescent  gaslight  is  eco- 
nomical in  its  consumption  of  gas  and  sound  from  a  hygienic 
standpoint;  it  gives  a  very  white  light  and  is  dazzling  in  its 
illuminating  power.  Electric  light  is  perfect  hygienically,  but 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  171 

is  not  yet  within  the  reach  of  many  private  individuals.  Where 
electric  light  is  being  introduced  into  a  town  it  is  possible  to 
have  it  laid  on  at  a  comparatively  low  cost.  Lamps  are  in 
general  use  when  gas  is  not  obtainable.  Formerly  colza  oil 
was  largely  used  but  it  is  expensive  and  requires  a  special  lamp, 
and  has  been  almost  entirely  replaced  by  the  use  of  the  mineral 
oils,  paraffin  and  petroleum.  These  mineral  oils  should  be  of 
the  best  quality;  cheap  oils  have  a  low  flash  point  and  are 
very  dangerous.  In  America  the  flash  point  is  100°  Fahrenheit 
while  in  England  75°  Fahrenheit  is  the  recognized  standpoint, 
hence  the  many  accidents  that  occur.  The  London  County 
Council  have  recognized  this  danger  and  have  issued  printed 
directions  for  the  construction  and  management  of  lamps,  a 
copy  of  which  should  be  in  every  household. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  SAFE  CONSTRUCTION  AND  PROPER 
MANAGEMENT  OF  LAMPS. 

Construction. 

1.  The  oil  reservoir  should  be  of  strong  metal  properly 
folded  and  soldered  at  the  joint,  and  should  not  be  of  china, 
glass  or  other  fragile  material. 

2.  There  should  be  no  opening  between  the  reservoir  and 
the  burner,  other  than  through  the  tube  which  holds  the  wick ; 
and  this  tube  should   be  extended  to  within  -J-  inch  of  the 
bottom  of  the  reservoir  and  should  have  no  opening  into  the 
reservoir  except  at  its  base. 

3.  The  burner  should  be  securely  attached  to  the  reservoir, 
preferably  by  means  of  a  strong  and  well-made  screw  attach- 
ment. 

4.  There  should  be  no  openings  through  which   the   oil 
could  flow  from  the  reservoir  should  the  lamp  be  upset. 

5.  Every  table  lamp  should  have  a  broad  and  heavy  base, 
to  which  the  reservoir  should  be  strongly  attached. 


172  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

THE  USE  OF  LAMPS. 

Suggestions  for  securing  Safety  in  the  use  of  Lamps. 

Petroleum  oil  (or  paraffin)  such  as  is  commonly  used  in  lamps  becomes 
dangerous  from  fire  and  explosion  when  it  is  heated  above  its  flashing  point. 

The  flashing  point  of  ordinary  petroleum  oil  is  a  little  above  73°  Fahr.; 
and  while  being  burnt  in  lamps  such  oil  is  frequently  heated  above  this 
temperature,  and  many  fatal  and  other  accidents  are  caused. 

Oil  in  the  reservoirs  of  lamps  is  rarely  heated  above  100°  Fahr.,  and  the 
most  important  safeguard  against  accident  is  therefore  never  to  burn  oil 
which  has  a  flashing  point  of  less  than  100°  Fahr. 

The  flashing  point  is  the  temperature  at  which  oil  flashes  when  tested 
in  the  Abel  testing  apparatus. 

Oil  of  over  100°  Fahr.  flashing  point  should  be  sold  by  every  oilman  or 
dealer  in  lamps  as  cheaply  as  low-flash  oil. 

Lamps  should  be  strongly  made,  and  should  be  kept  thoroughly  clean. 

In  choosing  a  lamp,  see — 

That  the  reservoir  is  thick  and  strong,  and  is  not  made  of  thin  glass 

or  china. 
That  the  burner  is  strong,  and  is  securely  connected  to  the  reservoir 

by  screwing  into  the  collar. 
That  the  lamp  has  a  broad  and  heavy  base. 

The  wick  should  be  soft,  and  not  tightly  plaited,  and  should  quite  fill 
the  wick  tube  without  having  to  be  squeezed  into  it.  Wicks  should  be 
frequently  renewed,  and  immediately  before  being  put  into  lamps  should  be 
dried  at  a  fire. 

In  managing  a  lamp,  take  care — 

That  the  reservoir  is  filled  with  oil  before  the  lamp  is  lit. 

That  the  burner  is  kept  thoroughly  clean,  that  all  oil  is  wiped  oft, 

and  all  charred  wick  and  dirt  carefully  removed  before  lighting. 
That  when   first  lit  the  wick   is  partially   turned   down,  and   then 

gradually  raised. 
That  the  wick  while  alight  is  not  left  turned  down,  as  there  is  then 

greater  liability  to  explosion  when  low-flash  oil  is  used. 


SANITARY  WATER  SUPPLY. 


To  face  page  173. 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  173 

That  lamps  which  have  no  extinguishing  apparatus  are  put  out  as 
follows— The  wick  should  be  turned  down  until  there  is  only  a 
small  flickering  flame,  and  a  flat  piece  of  metal  should  then  be 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  chimney,  so  as  to  entirely  close  it. 

That  cans  or  bottles  used  for  oil  are  free  from  water  and  dirt  and 
are  kept  closed. 

On  no  account  shottld  a  lamp  be  re-filled  while  it  is  alight. 

By  kind  permission  of  the  London  County  Council. 


Drainage  and   Water  Supply. 

§  70.     All  refuse  matter  should  be  removed  as  speedily  as 
possible  from  the  neighbourhood   of  dwellings, 

,  ,  -  ,  ,.  .,  .  Drains. 

and  the  problem  of  how  to  dispose  of  sewage  is 
one  of  the  most  pressing  of  the  day.  Sewers  are  conduits  to 
carry  away  waste  water  and  waste  products  to  be  disposed  of  in 
the  manner  most  suitable  and  possible  for  the  district.  House- 
pipes  are  the  channels  or  conduits  inside  the  house,  and  are 
either  soil-pipes  connected  with  the  water-closets  or  sink-pipes 
for  carrying  away  waste  water.  House-pipes  lead  into  drain- 
pipes. Pipes  leading  from  any  water-closet  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  house  should  be  outside  the  wall  of  the  house ;  while 
the  pipe  from  the  water-closet  should  be  obliquely  connected 
with  the  soil-pipe  and  have  air-tight  joints.  To  secure  ventila- 
tion the  soil-pipe  should  be  carried  well  above  the  roof,  not 
ending  near  any  window.  Where  the  house-pipe  joins  the 
drain,  it  should  be  disconnected  by  a  good  water-trap  and 
ventilation  secured  by  connection  with  the  open  air.  Waste- 
pipes  discharging  water  from  sinks,  lavatories,  baths  etc.  should 
not  connect  directly  with  any  drain,  but  must  discharge  into  the 
open  air  over  a  grating  covering  a  good  water-trap.  The  best 
and  safest  trap  is  the  syphon,  consisting  of  a  curved  tube,  the 
curves  being  full  of  clean  cold  water  which  should  stand  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  above  the  top  of  the  curve. 


174  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

This  trap  is  also  known  as  the  U-bend  from  its  shape;  a 
screw-cap  is  placed  in  the  bend  to  allow  of  the  pipe  being 
readily  cleaned  with  a  penny  cane  or  a  chain. 

The  best  modern  kinds  of  water-closet  are  the  wash-out 

and  the  wash-down  closets.     Both  are  made  out 
closets"1""         °f  glazed  earthenware  and  present  a  minimum 

amount  of  surface  between  the  basin  and  the 
trap.  The  quantity  of  flushing  water  available  should  be  at 
least  three  gallons.  This  water  should  be  supplied  from  its 
own  cistern  and  not  from  a  cistern  or  pipe  which  supplies 
water  for  other  household  purposes.  The  door  of  the  lavatory 
should  always  be  shut  and  the  window  kept  open. 

The  best  place  for  the  bathroom  is  at  the  side  of  the  house, 

so  that  the  waste  water  can  be   carried   away 

outside.  The  pipes  should  be  trapped  inside 
and  cut  off  outside  and  have  no  direct  communication  with  the 
drains. 

In  taking  a  house  it  is  best  to  have  the  drains  thoroughly 

examined  by  a  competent  person.  The  test 
drli°nlest the  generally  used  is  that  known  as  the  "smoke 

test."  A  simple  method,  which  can  be  carried 
out  by  everyone,  is  to  make  a  mixture  of  one  ounce  of  oil  of 
peppermint  and  a  few  gallons  of  hot  water  and  put  it  down  the 
pipe  at  the  highest  part.  As  the  oil  is  very  volatile,  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  tracing  the  smell  and  thus  detecting  a  leak  in  the 
pipe ;  the  tracing  of  the  smell  should  not  be  entrusted  to  the 
person  who  pours  the  peppermint  and  water  down  the  drain  as 
the  odour  is  pungent  and  lingering  and  may  be  misleading. 
House  refuse  is  usually  stored  up  on  the  premises  until 

removed  at  certain  intervals  by  the  scavenger's 
R^fus"  cart-     When  this  is  done  it  is  necessary  to  see 

that  the  receptacle  is  made  of  some  non-porous 
material,  such  as  galvanized  iron  with  a  closely  fitting  lid.  It 
is  far  better  and  safer  to  store  nothing  but  dust  and  ashes  and 
to  burn  all  vegetable  and  animal  refuse.  This  may  be  done 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  1/5 

by  rolling  up  such  things  as  food  scraps,  tea-leaves,  etc.  in 
paper,  drying  them  on  the  stove  or  under  the  grate  and  then 
putting  them  on  the  fire  when  it  is  bright  and  fierce ;  there  will 
be  no  smell,  and  if  the  dampers  are  pulled  out  the  whole  mass 
will  soon  disappear.  Another  method  is  to  bury  such  refuse, 
but  this  is  impossible  except  in  the  country. 

A  good  supply  of  water  is  a  necessity  and  health  depends 
upon  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  supply. 
Water  is  wanted  for  drinking  and  cooking  supply^ 
purposes,  for  personal  ablutions,  for  washing, 
for  flushing  drains  and  sewers ;  these  amounts  are  generally 
included  under  domestic  supplies,  at  least  20  gallons  per  day 
per  head  is  required.  In  addition  streets  have  to  be  watered, 
horses  and  cattle  supplied,  etc.  In  large  towns  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  water  supply  are  generally  in  the  hands  of  a 
water  company  and  it  is  often  brought  from  long  distances,  as 
for  instance  Manchester,  which  gets  its  water  from  Lake 
Thirlamere,  a  distance  of  95  miles.  The  quality  of  the  water 
is  very  important.  It  should  be  clear,  transparent  and  colour- 
less, it  should  have  no  taste  or  smell  and  give  no  deposit  on 
standing.  Very  clear  sparkling  water  may  be  dangerous, 
because  it  contains  organic  impurities  which  will  produce 
cholera  and  typhoid  fever.  Water  is  roughly  divided  into 
hard  and  soft  water.  The  hardness  is  due  to  the  presence 
in  the  water  of  the  salts  of  lime  and  magnesia ;  rain  water  is 
the  only  natural  soft  water  and  is  best  for  washing  purposes. 
What  is  known  as  temporary  hardness  can  be  removed  by 
boiling  or  by  the  addition  of  an  alkali,  but  permanently  hard 
water  is  only  affected  by  distillation.  Drinking  water  if  pure  is 
best  untouched,  but  unless  absolutely  satisfied  on  this  point  it 
is  better  to  boil  it;  from  10  to  20  minutes  will  be  an  absolute 
protection  even  if  the  water  be  not  pure  to  start  with.  As 
boiled  water  has  a  flat  insipid  taste,  it  can  be  aerated  by 
pouring  it  from  one  jug  to  another,  in  fresh  air  if  possible. 

Filtration  is  often  resorted  to,  but  it  does  not  take  the 


176  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

place  of  boiling.     Filters  must  be  kept  scrupulously  clean  and 
the  water  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  stagnant  in  them. 

A  cistern  for  storing  water  temporarily  is  needed  where  the 
water  supply  is  intermittent,  that  is,  only  turned  on  at  certain 
hours ;  the  constant  supply  is  far  more  healthy  and  convenient. 
Cisterns  should  be  cleaned  out  every  few  months  and  be 
supplied  with  a  tightly-fitting  lid,  and  those  used  for  drinking 
water  should  have  no  communication  with  a  sanitary  conveni- 
ence. Wherever  possible,  rain  water  should  be  collected  and 
stored  for  use.  As  it  has  a  solvent  action  on  lead,  neither  the 
cistern  nor  the  pipes  should  be  made  of  that  substance. 


Kitchen,  Larder,  and  Store  Room. 

§  71.  When  all  these  points  have  been  carefully  looked 
into,  the  next  important  part  of  the  house  to 
be  considered  is  the  kitchen,  for  on  it  and  the 
construction  of  the  range  depend  much  of  the  comfort  of  the 
house.  Most  kitchens  are  fitted  with  a  fixed  range,  that  is,  a 
range  built  into  the  wall  with  a  self-filling  boiler  at  the  back 
which  supplies  the  house  with  hot  water.  The  latter  should  be 
easy  of  access,  protected  from  frost  and  have  a  constant  supply 
of  water.  The  range  should  be  provided  with  two  ovens,  one 
well  ventilated  for  roasting  purposes ;  the  grate  should  be  fitted 
with  a  patent  lifter  by  means  of  which  the  fireplace  is  made 
larger  or  smaller  according  to  the  purpose  for  which  the  fire 
is  required.  The  backs  of  the  modern  ranges  are  usually  made 
of  tiles,  which  are  easily  cleaned  and  give  a  fresh,  clean 
appearance  to  the  stove.  Much  depends  on  the  setting  of  a 
range,  and  on  taking  a  house  it  is  well  to  give  the  one  provided 
a  trial  before  settling  down.  It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  have 
a  range  "  built  in,"  they  can  be  obtained  with  hot  water  boilers 
and  can  be  placed  in  an  ordinary  fireplace  or  against  a  wall. 
The  cost  of  these  ranges  varies  from  ^20  upwards. 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  177 

An  American  or  portable  range  is  cheap  and  useful,  and 
may  be  placed  in  a  back  kitchen  for  use  during  the  summer 
months  or  in  any  house  where  a  large  supply  of  hot  water  is 
not  required.  Many  are  provided  with  a  side  boiler,  but  this 
limits  the  oven  room,  which  should  not  be  less  than  16  x  14 
inches.  The  cost  is  from  ^2.  IO.T.  upwards. 

Gas-stoves  are  now  used  by  rich  and  poor,  the  introduction 
of  the  penny  in  the  slot  system  enabling  the  latter  to  use  these 
stoves  economically  and  with  great  advantage.  They  should 
not  be  placed  unprotected  on  a  wooden  floor,  but  should  stand 
on  a  sheet  of  iron  or  on  a  slab  of  slate.  They  should  also  be 
well  ventilated  to  carry  off  the  noxious  fumes  of  gas,  a  point 
very  often  overlooked. 

The  advantages  of  gas-stoves  in  cooking  are  very  obvious ; 
there  is  no  dirt  or  dust  and  an  even,  easily  regulated  tempera- 
ture can  be  maintained. 

Oil-stoves  are  much  used  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
especially  during  the  summer  months.  The  cost  of  buying 
and  heating  is  very  little,  a  small  stove  costing  about  22$. ;  they 
are  suitable  for  baking,  boiling  and  stewing.  The  lamps  must 
be  kept  thoroughly  clean  and  well  trimmed  and  the  flues 
on  each  side  of  the  ovens  kept  free  from  soot;  the  oil  used 
should  be  of  the  best  (see  lamps)  and  each  lamp  fitted  with  a 
patent  extinguisher. 

In  cleaning  ranges  of  all  kinds,  the  fireirons,  fender,  etc. 
must  first  be  removed  and  then  the  contents  of  the  grate 
thoroughly  sifted,  the  cinders,  which  are  porous,  should  be  laid 
aside  for  lighting  the  fire,  while  the  ashes  are  carried  out  to 
the  dustbin.  The  flues  should  then  be  thoroughly  brushed 
out  by  means  of  a  long-handled  flexible  brush,  known  as 
the  flue  brush  ;  access  to  them  is  gained  through  the  openings 
in  various  parts  of  the  range,  known  as  soot  doors.  This 
cleaning  of  the  flues  is  a  very  important  point  and  a  regular 
day  once  a  week  should  be  set  aside  for  the  duty.  Com- 
plaints of  ovens  not  heating,  of  the  want  of  hot  water,  may 
B.  12 


178  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

all  be  traced  to  the  neglect  of  cleanliness.  If  grease  be  spilt 
in  the  ovens  or  on  the  range,  the  shelves,  etc.  should  be 
washed  with  hot  water  and  soda  before  the  blackleading  is 
proceeded  with.  Mix  the  black  lead  or  enamelline  with  a 
little  water  or  turpentine  and  apply  lightly  with  a  brush,  rub 
off  with  another  and  polish  with  a  third.  Nickel  fittings  should 
be  rubbed  bright  with  a  leather,  steel  and  brass  fittings  cleaned 
with  powdered  bathbrick.  In  cleaning  a  gas-stove,  the  openings 
through  which  the  gas  jets  come  must  be  carefully  cleared,  a 
long  fine  pin  is  useful,  as  the  openings  often  get  choked  with 
grease  or  blacklead  and  refuse  to  burn  properly.  In  laying 
the  fire  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  can  be  no  fire 
without  plenty  of  air.  Put  first  a  few  pieces  of  cinder,  then 
some  lightly  crumpled  paper,  sticks  laid  crosswise,  and  finally 
some  pieces  of  coal. 

The  next  point  of  importance  after  the  kitchen  range  is  the 
position  of  the  sink;  ill-health  may  often  be  traced  to  want 
of  attention  to  this  part  of  the  establishment.  It  should  be 
placed  against  an  outside  wall  and  be  constructed  of  hard 
glazed  earthenware,  slightly  tilted  towards  the  opening  of  the 
pipe  to  allow  the  water  to  run  off  freely.  The  opening  should 
be  protected  by  a  piece  of  perforated  zinc  or  copper  to  prevent 
bits  from  going  through  and  choking  the  pipes ;  a  sink-basket 
is  an  additional  protection  and  collects  the  pieces  which  may 
afterwards  be  dried  and  burnt.  The  pipe  should  have  a  bend 
in  it,  U-shaped,  with  a  screw-cap  at  the  bottom  of  the  bend 
which  may  be  easily  removed  for  cleaning  purposes :  a  penny 
cane  or  a  chain  may  be  used  to  remove  any  obstruction.  The 
pipe  itself  should  penetrate  the  outer  wall  and  discharge  into 
the  open  air  over  a  grating  covering  a  good  water  trap;  it 
should  not  be  made  to  open  under  the  grating  as  sewer  gas 
may  be  sucked  up  through  the  pipe  by  the  higher  temperature 
of  the  air  inside  the  house.  Sinks  should  be  well  scrubbed 
from  time  to  time  with  plenty  of  hot  water  and  soda,  this  will 
help  to  remove  the  grease  which  congeals  and  clings  to  the 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  179 

inside  surface  of  the  pipe.  At  least  once  a  week  a  pailful  of 
disinfectant  should  be  poured  down  to  keep  everything  sweet 
and  clean ;  Condy's  fluid  or  permanganate  of  potash  may  be 
used  mixed  with  water,  as  it  is  non-poisonous  and  removes 
offensive  smells ;  it  should  be  understood  that  Condy's  fluid  is 
a  deodorizer,  but  does  not  destroy  micro-organisms.  Quantities 
of  cold  water  should  be  poured  down  the  sink  drain  the  last 
thing ;  this  purifies  and  freshens  the  pipes  and  stands  in  the  U- 
bend  of  the  Open  Trap  so  that  any  sewer  gas  arising  from  the 
drain  would  be  less  likely  to  pass  through  into  the  scullery  or 
kitchen.  The  use  of  sand  in  cleaning  sinks  or  kitchen  utensils 
is  not  to  be  advocated  as  it  is  apt  to  choke  the  pipe ;  cabbage- 
water  should  be  emptied  away  out  of  doors,  as  it  causes  a  foul 
penetrating  smell  in  the  house.  The  coloured  diagram  on 
page  173  should  be  carefully  studied  in  illustration  of  the-  above 
instructions. 

Next  to  the  consideration  of  the  kitchen-range,  the  drains, 
and  the  position  of  the  sink,  comes  the  question 
of  the  larder.  As  already  stated,  it  should  face 
north,  but,  besides  being  cool,  it  is  also  neces- 
sary that  it  should  be  dry  and  well-ventilated.  A  current 
of  air  should  move  through  it  by  means  of  two  windows  or 
by  a  window  and  ventilating  bricks.  The  larder  should  be 
light,  the  walls  and  ceiling  whitewashed  at  frequent  intervals 
and  everything  kept  sweet  and  clean ;  the  shelves  therefore  are 
best  made  of  slate  or  earthenware  instead  of  wood.  No  closet, 
ashpit  or  drain  ventilator  should  be  anywhere  near,  as  all  food, 
especially  milk,  is  easily  contaminated. 

The  larder  should  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  storing  food 
only,  and  all  food  should  be  kept  covered  with  muslin  to  keep 
off  dust,  flies,  and  possible  mice.  The  ceiling  should  be 
furnished .  with  hooks  for  hanging  meat  and  game  ;  bacon  also 
should  be  hung  in  a  dry  place  well  away  from  the  walls,  and 
hams  tied  in  bags  for  protection  from  flies.  Lard  done  up  in 
skins  may  be  suspended  from  nails.  Apples  and  pears  may  be 

12 —  2 


i8o  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

stored  on  the  floor,  placed  so  that  they  do  not  touch  each  other 
and  carefully  looked  over  from  time  to  time  ;  bunches  of  grapes 
may  be  strung  on  a  string,  the  stalks  may  be  put  in  bottles  of 
water  which  may  be  hung  with  string  tied  round  the  necks. 
Root  vegetables,  such  as  potatoes,  artichokes,  carrots,  should 
be  stored  in  a  dark,  dry  place,  onions  should  be  plaited  in 
strings  and  suspended  from  a  hook,  lemons  may  be  hung  in 
nets  from  a  nail  in  the  ceiling  so  that  they  may  be  surrounded 
by  air  on  all  sides.  Herbs  should  be  dried,  rubbed  fine,  and 
kept  in  tightly  corked  bottles.  In  some  houses  the  larder  and 
store-room  serve  one  and  the  same  purpose,  but  a  larder  should 
be  used  for  the  food  in  use  only,  while  dry  goods,  such  as  rice, 
sugar,  biscuits,  soap,  matches,  etc.,  which  are  cheaper  bought 
in  large  quantities,  are  kept  in  the  store-room.  Here  also 
should  be  found  jams,  jellies,  pickles,  and  tinned  foods ;  in  the 
country  a  store-room  is  a  necessity,  as  supplies  of  all  kinds  are 
not  always  obtainable  at  a  moment's  notice  and  the  house- 
keeper will  find  it  useful  to  keep  a  stock  of  provisions  in  case 
of  unexpected  guests  and  any  other  emergency.  Where  stores 
are  bought  in  large  quantities  a  special  day  should  be  set  apart 
for  giving  them  out  and  each  servant  be  instructed  to  bring  a 
list  of  things  required  in  her  special  department  during  the 
week.  Every  article  should  be  kept  in  tins  or  jars,  each 
distinctly  labelled  and  replenished  as  the  contents  get  low. 

The  cost  of  furnishing  the  kitchen  is  very  considerable,  and 
must  depend  a  great  deal  on  the  income  of  those  about  to  live 
in  the  house  and  the  amount  of  cooking  required. 

A  good  furnishing  ironmonger  and  draper  will  supply 
priced  lists  of  kitchen  requisites  suitable  for  an  average  house- 
hold; it  is  false  economy  to  buy  cheap  utensils,  as  they  quickly 
wear  out ;  this  is  especially  the  case  with  saucepans,  good 
ones  can  be  re-tinned  at  a  small  cost  and  will  last  a  long  time. 
If  a  kitchen  is  to  be  used  as  a  servant's  hall  as  well,  it  is 
advisable  to  have  a  gas  or  oil  stove  in  the  back  kitchen  for  use 
during  the  summer  months.  It  should  also  be  furnished  com- 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  181 

fortably  with  2  or  3  tables,  chairs,  plate-rack  and  dresser, 
fender,  fireirons  and  blinds,  and  the  floor  should  be  Covered 
with  linoleum  and  a  cover  chosen  for  the  table. 


The  Sick- Room  and  its  appliances :  medical  and  surgical1. 

§  72.  The  following  section  deals  with  some  of  the  emer- 
gencies that  may  present  themselves  in  the  home ;  they  do  not 
aim  in  any  way  at  being  a  complete  manual  on  sick  nursing, 
but  are  merely  suggestions  what  to  do  in  the  absence  of  the 
medical  man. 

Among  the  many  duties  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  house- 
wife comes  the  very  important  one  of  nursing 
and  tending  the  sick  and  the  preparation  of  R^m8'01* 
their  food  and  that  of  infants.  A  little  know- 
ledge on  the  part  of  the  head  of  the  house  will  often  detect 
the  first  symptoms  and  ward  off  a  serious  illness  by  sending 
for  the  doctor  in  time  and  being  able  to  apply  the  remedies 
prescribed  at  an  early  stage  of  the  disease.  This  is  especially 
important  with  childish  ailments,  which  develop  with  alarming 
rapidity.  In  the  case  of  illness  in  a  house,  the  choice  and 
preparation  of  the  room  must  be  considered.  In  cases  of 
accident,  an  apartment  on  the  ground-floor  should  be  chosen, 
light,  airy,  and,  as  in  all  cases  of  illness,  free  from  superfluous 
furniture.  Except  perhaps  in  the  height  of  summer  a  fire 
should  be  lighted,  as  the  patient  frequently  suffers  from  collapse 
and  will  require  warmth  to  restore  him.  When  an  infectious 
disease  declares  itself  a  top  room  should  be  chosen,  as  much 
isolated  as  possible.  A  sheet  dipped  in  carbolic  acid  and 
water  (i  in  40)  may  be  hung  in  front  of  the  door  and  the  room 

1  Teachers  are  advised  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  more 
detailed  applications  to  School  life  of  the  rules  laid  down  in  this  section 
which  will  be  found  in  Hope  and  Browne  :  T"he  Teachers'  Manual  of 
School  Hygiene,  Cambridge,  iqoi. 


1 82  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 


*^,       **„-.-  f^f^-f   _,%|.    —  jJjjrfa    •.I  ij  iii   jT.^  !«•  Wss>    MI*     - 

-        •   .  _  ,  .    .  _•      ,  •  -   .       •  -:  ,-.,..  .    .        •    '.    - 

whidi  some  Condy*s  Ftoid  (permanganate  of  potash)  has  been 
added  or  some  carbolic  acid    The  latter  »  a  poison  and 


of  potash  if  a  deodorizer  and  not  a  disinfectant,  but  it  is 
harmlem  Next  to  the  preparation  of  the  room  cones  the  bed, 
Jfevtr  attempt,  ante**  it  if  absolutely  onaroidable,  to  norse  any 
one  in  illness  on  a  double  or  on  a  feather  bed  An  iron  bed- 
stead 6  ft,  by  3  J  with  spring  and  hair  mattresses  is  die  most 
comfortable  for  both  patient  and  norse;  the  bedding  should  be 
light  and  warm  ;  in  cases  of  rheumatism  sheets  are  not  used, 
In  most  iflnesses  a  draw  sheet  is  pot  on  to  keep  the  onder  sheet 
dean.  It  is  folded  lengthwise  to  reach  from  the  shoulder  to 
the  knees  and  is  partly  rolled  up.  Both  ends  are  tacked 
tightly  under  the  mattress,  sometimes  secured  by  safety  pins, 
as  any  wrinkles  in  die  sheet  or  blanket  win  cause  bed  sores; 
when  soiled  or  a  fresh  cool  surface  is  required,  port  may  be 
unrolled  and  drawn  through  without  disturbing  the  patient, 
In  some  cases  a  sheet  of  mackintosh  may  be  placed  under  the 
draw-sheet  Sheets  are  changed  in  two  ways,  Should  the 
patient  be  quite  helpless,  as  in  surreal  cases,  the  under  sheet 
is  removed  by  rolling  from  the  bead  to  t  >ne  person  on 

each  side  of  the  bed  The  soiled  sheet  is  loosened  and  rolled, 
the  dean  one  arranged  at  the  top  of  the  bed,  the  rest  of  it 
being  rolled  and  placed  parallel  with  die  soiled  sheet.  The 
two  sheets  are  then  worked  downwards,  the  soiled  one  rolled 
op  and  removed,  the  dean  one  unrolled  and  tucked  in  at  the 
end  of  die  bed  In  medical  cases  and  when  the  patient  may 
rnored,  the  sheets  are  changed  from  the  side.  The  sick 
person  is  turned  on  to  one  side,  die  dirty  sheet  loosened  and 
rolled  up  close  to  the  patient's  back,  while  die  clean  sheet  is 
loosely  rolled  parallel  widi  die  rofl  of  the  soiled  one.  After 
tucking  in  the  dean  sheet  gently  turn  the  patient  over  so  that 
he  crosses  the  rolls  ;  the  soiled  sheet  may  then  be  removed  and 
the  dean  one  arranged  and  tucked  in.  During  the  changing 


UAl*.  \,|  //.v^-V^VM.  IS; 


ot  tlu-  must  be  kept  covered  up* 

tlu-  top  siu-,  vmxpAratively  easy  matta.    Tin.-  vU\m 

uppn    slu-v-t     with    a    hlank.-t    is  laid  Oil    tlu 

hlankv-t,    wluvh   luw-   Uvn    pi    uousl\      .-.-. 

holds   llu-  i-K-an   rlotlu-.   m    pUv,    th  n    do    this    it 

\\v-ll   v-nou^.h,    whilr   llu-   otlua    ivuu>\  u-s    horn 

Iviu-.illi.    tlu-    u-sl     ot     llu-    ,-owim.-..    atv    tlu-n    ivp'.a.vd         \H 
tiul    luu-n    should    Iv     wvUauvd     atul     waiuu-d        I'lu- 
nui>.,-    shouM    wash    tlu-    patu-nt'-.    hanvls  at\vi 
wuh  waim  walvi  anil  a  vouipK  i,    u 

.1    \\Avk  It      is     IU 

a  tiiur,  to  ha\v  r\  m  u-avlmv-s>.  hv-U»u-  t»v-;.-,mnu\g  and  tO 

aii an1//-  a  hlankrl    01    tlantu-I    >.,»  that    tho   iHKICiOth^  •  «-UVvl  t' 

111  !\    l>v'  kv'pt  th\   ,    m  t,'\  .  pa  t  u  a 

spon^iHK        Iti  v  haiuMii:-.   ln>d\    luu-n,  tlu-    ttvs 
In  .1    I',-    .iii,-il    aiul    w.u  uu-vl         I  n    t  a-.r-.    ol 
iM'-.ht.li.-  .-.  >.lu>uKl   In-  ivuu>\,,l  livm  tlu-   «  >         \\lu-n 

»h,- .-.iii:-,  ilu-  i. -\.-i-.v  ot  ,  ui  ..  put  llu-  mimwl  aim  into  tlu-  sKv\v- 
lu  a  P..  -i  l>\  wimkK-.  m  llu-  Is-Jrlotlu-.,  mi 

i  U-anluu-  •;,,,!  umi»-.,  01    li  ,MU   K»:i       \  •  •     

llu-  l>oil\         1   \,i\    pi,-,  , uiti, MI    -.luMiKl    1>,  pu-w-nt    thru 

.ipp.  MMU,  1>\  uililuii;-.  llu-  p.uts  hkv-U  to  In-  alK-rU-vl  walh 
.piiii  ,.l  MM\U-  kuul,  I'au  olv  I'olo^iu-,  nu-llul.U»-»l  spun.. 
\\lii  .K\.  ,U  Iniplomplil  rt.ulU".  loi  ksTpmo  ill,'  l«. 

oil  .111  mimed  linil*  may  I'v  UKuIr  with  a  h.uul  l«o\  v>t  a  thiv,- 
!,-•>  .1  .tool  .  l>\  tiiuunv.  a  *  han  up-.uK-  ,low 

llu-    ha.  1.     loiin  .     i      .1  int.    :  'loital'K'    wtlh 

pillow.,    a    piilli-\    mi,l,-,'l    l.mttv-J    »  otion  01     i    i,-ll,i    towv'l  ran 

h<     i  i  ,i>  IUH!   io   tlu    I'ool   ..i   ilu-  U-,l  l>\  win,  h  ih. 

i.u  .,  lum-.,-ll  I'lu  1,-mp,  i  um,  ,-t  i  .i,l.  IOOMI  mu  a  l>,-  -.l»ulu-»l 
uul  ,i  ih,  .MI, .m,  I,  i  -.luMiM  l««-  him'.',  m  i  •<(  ol  tlu- 

rOOBl  -      M,      U       til.'      IM.        .M        Ml        !      .-  1    h.'      ,M,hn   >.\ 

t.  mp,  -i.iUn,-  is  l»o  I  ilu,  iilu-il,  .uul  U  .luMiKl  U  i,  in,  nils  i,  vl 
thai  llu  \il,iht\  ol  .1  p  UK  Ml  i  .  .it  u  .  lowr  .1  livm  •  a  m  until 
.HUM  ..  .  .,-  th  U  ,  .u,-  mu  .1  I.,-  I  il,,  n  I\0|  t,'  l.t  tlu  iu,  ,'UI 


184  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

during  the  night.  As  soon  as  a  case  of  illness  occurs  in  a 
house  the  doctor  should  be  sent  for,  but  in  the  meantime  the 
one  in  charge  of  the  sick  person  should  carefully  jot  down  on 
paper  any  symptoms  that  may  help  the  doctor  to  diagnose  the 
case  on  arrival ;  a  time-table  should  be  kept  of  the  hours 
at  which  food  or  medicine  have  been  administered  and  of  the 
length  and  depth  of  sleep. 

§  73.  A  few  simple  remedies  may  be  stored  for  use  in  an 
emergency,  especially  in  a  house  where  there  are  children  : 
linseed  meal  for  poultices,  castor  oil,  Kutnow's  powder,  boracic 
ointment,  ipecacuanha,  oil-silk,  cotton-wool,  sal  volatile,  a 
feeding  cup,  clinical  and  bath  thermometers,  a  bronchitis 
kettle,  a  medicine  glass  and  a  few  bandages.  In  sending  for 
the  doctor  it  is  advisable  to  state  whether  it  is  an  accident  or 
not,  that  he  may  come  with  the  necessary  appliances  and  much 
valuable  time  be  saved. 

In  the  case  of  slight  accidents,  first  aid  may  be  rendered  at 
home.  Should  the  clothes  catch  fire  the  person 
Scalds"8  and  should  be  wrapped  up  in  a  thick  woollen  gar- 
ment or  even  a  door  mat,  and  be  rolled  on  the 
floor  until  the  flames  are  extinguished.  In  dressing  a  burn  or 
scald  great  care  must  be  taken  in  removing  the  clothes  for  fear 
the  skin  should  be  torn  or  broken.  Scissors  should  be  used, 
and  if  any  part  adheres,  it  may  be  sponged  away  with  warm 
water.  In  dressing  these  injuries  it  is  necessary  to  exclude  the 
air ;  this  may  be  done  by  covering  the  wounds  with  flour,  and 
with  bandages  or  strips  of  old  linen.  The  burn  or  scald  may 
be  further  enveloped  in  cotton-wool.  Equal  parts  of  lime 
water  and  oil  (linseed  or  olive  oil)  shaken  up  together  form  an 
excellent  mixture  for  application.  Strips  of  linen  should  be 
dipped  in  the  mixture  and  then  laid  on  one  by  one,  in  order 
that  as  little  of  the  surface  as  possible  may  be  exposed  at  once. 
Pain  may  be  relieved  by  the  application  of  a  paste  made  of 
bicarbonate  of  soda  and  water  spread  over  the  burn  and 
covered  with  cotton-wool. 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  185 

A  foreign  body  in  the  ear  demands  specially  careful 
treatment.  If  turning  the  head  on  one  side  and 
tapping  the  other  ear  is  not  successful,  it  is  best 
to  let  the  patient  see  a  doctor  at  once.  If  an 
insect  has  got  in,  a  little  warm  oil  may  be  poured  in  and  the 
head  turned  on  one  side.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  foreign  body 
should  be  a  pea  or  bean  no  liquid  should  be  put  in,  or  the  pea 
or  bean  will  swell.  In  trying  to  remove  anything 
from  the  eye  hold  down  the  lower  lid  with  the 
fore-finger  of  the  left  hand  and  remove  the 
foreign  substance  with  a  tightly  folded  piece  of  paper  or  a 
soft  camel's  hair  brush.  Should  lime  have  got  in,  bathe  the 
eye  with  vinegar  and  water  and  afterwards  with  warm  water. 

Bruises  may  be  rubbed  over  with  fresh  butter  or  olive  oil, 
cuts  should  be  washed  in  warm  water  to  remove 
any  dirt  or  glass  and  bound  up.     If  the  bleeding     cu^uises  and 
continue  cold  water  will  help  to  reduce  it. 

Unconsciousness  may  be  due  to   various  causes,  it  is  not 
always  easy  even  for  a  medical  man  to  diagnose 
the  case  at  once.     In  the  meantime  the  patient 
should  be  kept  quiet  in  a  recumbent  position,  all 
tight  clothing  removed,  a  hot  bottle  may  be  put  to  the  feet  and 
cold  applications  to  the  head.     It  is  better  to  give  no  stimulant 
unless    ordered    by   the  doctor.      In    cases    of 

,.  ,  Poisons. 

poison  it  is  often  necessary  to  act  at  once,  and 
for  this  reason  it  is  well  to  know  something  of  the  various  kinds 
of  poisons  and  how  to  treat  them.     They  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes,  cases  in  which  an  emetic  must  not  be  given,  and 
those  in  which  one  should  be  given  at  once: 

i.  An  emetic  should  not  be  given  in  cases  of  poisoning 
by  corrosives,  substances  which  destroy  life  by  corroding  the 
tissues.  They  include  (a)  acids,  such  as  carbolic  acid,  oxalic 
acid,  etc.,  (b)  alkalies,  such  as  soda,  lime,  caustic  potash. 
The  antidote  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  poison.  If  an  acid 
has  been  taken  give  an  alkali,  su^h  as  a  tablespoonful  of 


1 86  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

magnesia,  chalk,  plaster  from  the  walls,  etc.,  in  a  tumbler  of 
water;  if  the  poison  is  from  an  alkali  the  antidote  will  be 
a  weak  acid,  such  as  a  tablespoonful  of  vinegar  or  lemon  juice  in 
half  a  glass  of  water.  After  that  give  barley-water,  olive  oil  or 
white  of  egg. 

Poisons  which  require  an  emetic  are  various  and  only  a  few 
can  be  mentioned. 

(a)  Narcotics^  such  as  laudanum,  chlorodyne,  morphia, 
&c.  The  patient  under  these  circumstances  must  be  kept 
awake,  he  should  be  given  strong  coffee  and  be  made  to 
walk  about.  Douches  of  cold  water  will  help  to  overcome 
the  deadly  drowsiness.  A  quickly  made  emetic  is  a  tumbler 
of  warm  water  in  which  a  tablespoon  of  mustard  or  salt  has 
been  mixed. 

(fr)  Excitants.  These  poisons  are  caused  by  deadly  night- 
shade, prussic  acid,  some  kinds  of  fungi,  etc.  After  giving  the 
emetic  a  douche  of  cold  water  should  be  administered.  The 
symptoms  are  excitement  and  delirium. 

(c)  Irritants.  These  cause  pain  at  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  vomiting  and  great  prostration,  and  result  from  taking 
arsenic,  lead,  mercury,  phosphorus,  laburnum  seeds,  foxglove, 
aconite,  putrid  meat,  etc.  If  the  patient  has  vomited  freely 
there  is  no  need  to  give  an  emetic,  but  barley-water,  white  of 
egg  in  water  or  gruel  should  be  administered  and  stimulants 
may  be  ordered.  Oil  may  be  given  in  most  cases  of  poisoning 
except  when  the  trouble  is  caused  by  taking  phosphorus.  The 
doctor  should  always  be  sent  for  at  once,  and,  if  possible,  the 
nature  of  the  poison  taken  described.  A  clue  may  be  obtained 
by  taking  a  rapid  survey  of  the  patient's  surroundings  and  cir- 
cumstances and  noting  any  bottles  or  papers  which  may  help 
in  the  identification  of  the  poison. 

Fever  cases  may  be  divided  into  various  stages,  i.  In- 
cubation, the  period  that  elapses  between  taking 

Infection. 

the  infection  and  developing  the  disease.    2.  In- 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  187 

vasion,  the  time  of  the  actual  attack  when  the  temperature  of  the 
patient  rises;  common  symptoms  are  shivering  fits  known  as 
rigors  or  severe  headache.  3.  Eruption,  the  rash  then  appears; 
its  absence  is  often  a  dangerous  symptom.  4.  Defervescence, 
when  a  return  to  the  normal  temperature  sets  in,  if  the  patient 
is  to  recover.  5.  Convalescence  is  the  period  that  lasts  until 
the  usual  state  of  health  is  re-established.  All  cases  of  in- 
fectious disease  must  be  strictly  isolated ;  different  fevers  are 
infectious  in  various  ways,  so  that  precautions  must  be  taken 
from  the  very  outset.  Scarlet  fever  is  catching  from  the  breath 
and  through  scales  from  the  skin,  typhoid  through  the  excreta, 
measles  through  exhalations,  diphtheria  through  a  deposit  on 
the  throat  and  through  the  breath. 

Disinfectants  destroy  micro-organisms,  while  a  deodorizer 
merely  prevents  an  unpleasant  smell,  but  does  not  take  away 
the  risk  of  infection. 

The  best  disinfectant  to  use  is  carbolic  acid,  but  it  is  a 
dangerous  poison  and  should  be  kept  locked  up  and  never 
placed  within  the  reach  of  children  or  near  medicine  or  food. 
Chloride  of  lime  may  also  be  used.  After  an  infectious  illness 
the  patient  should  be  bathed,  dressed  in  clean  clothes  and 
removed  from  the  room,  which  should  then  be  well  disinfected. 
The  wall  paper  should  be  stripped  off  and  burnt,  the  crevices 
of  door  and  windows  and  the  opening  into  the  chimney 
stopped  up,  while  sulphur  candles,  protected  by  a  tin  tray  or 
bucket,  are  burnt  and  the  room  left  shut  up  for  24  hours.  All 
the  bedclothes,  etc.,  should  be  sent  to  a  disinfecting  chamber, 
where  they  will  be  properly  treated.  When  the  room  has  been 
reopened  and  ventilated,  floor  and  furniture  may  be  washed 
with  a  weak  solution  of  carbolic  acid  and  water  and  soft-soap, 
the  walls  repapered,  doors  repainted. 

In  cases  of  convulsions  where  the  child  should  be  placed  in 
a  hot  bath  up  to  the  neck  and  when  it  may  be 

Convulsions. 

frightened  by  the  steam,  a  blanket  should  be  laid 

over  the  bath  and  the  child  gradually  lowered  into  the  water. 


1 88  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

It  is  dangerous  to  put  children  into  too  hot  water,  therefore  a 
bath  thermometer  should  be  kept.  Failing  that,  the  elbow  may 
be  used  as  a  test,  the  hand  being  used  in  so  many  different 
ways  is  less  sensitive  as  a  guide. 

Temperature  of  baths. 

Tepid  bath  85°  to  95°  Fahrenheit. 

Warm      „     96°  to  104°         ,, 

Hot         „   102°  to  110°         „ 

Cases  of  haemorrhage  or  bleeding  require  prompt  attention, 

and  valuable  lives  may  be  lost  while  waiting  for 

the   doctor.     It   is   necessary   to   distinguish   if 

possible   the  different   kinds   of  bleeding.     This  is   set  forth 

in  any  good  manual  of  Physiology  and  it  is  sufficient  here 

to  point  out  that  it  is  of  three  kinds,  from  the  arteries,  the 

veins,    and   the   capillaries.      The   arteries    bring   pure   blood 

from  the  heart  and  should  one  of  them  be  severed  serious 

consequences  may  ensue  unless  the  bleeding   is   stopped  at 

once. 

Arterial  blood  is  known  by  its  bright  red  colour  and  by 
the  way  it  rushes  forth  in  jerks  or  spurts.  In 
order  to  stop  this  kind  of  bleeding  pressure  must 
be  applied.  This  may  be  done,  (i)  by  pressing 
the  two  thumbs  over  the  point  in  the  wound  from  which  the 
blood  is  seen  to  be  issuing.  (2)  by  applying  pressure  to  the 
main  artery  higher  up  the  limb  on  the  side  nearest  the  heart. 
(3)  a  tourniquet  may  be  put  on.  The  latter  may  be  rapidly 
improvised  by  means  of  a  large  handkerchief  folded  into  a 
bandage  a  few  inches  wide ;  in  the  middle  of  the  folds  insert 
a  piece  of  wood,  a  penny  or  some  hard  substance,  draw  the 
ends  of  the  bandage  round  the  limb  and  tie  it,  a  stick  or 
key  may  then  be  inserted  and  twisted  until  the  bleeding  stops. 
If  however  the  wound  should  be  in  the  neck  the  tourniquet 
cannot  be  used  and  pressure  is  the  only  thing  to  be  done 
until  the  surgeon  comes ;  the  helpers  may  have  to  relieve  each 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  189 

other,  one  slipping  his  thumbs  under  the  other  when  changing. 
If  a  hand  or  foot  is  wounded  the  elbow  or  knee  may  be 
flexed,  the  pressure  at  the  bend  of  the  joint  helping  to  diminish 
the  bleeding. 

The  veins  bring   blood    to    the  heart,  and  their  contents 
are  of  a  darker  colour  and   flow   more  slowly. 
Pressure  must  be  applied  over  the  wound,  pads 
steeped  in  cold  water  bound  on,  and  where  pos- 
sible   the    limb    must   be    elevated   to    diminish    the    flow   of 
blood.      One   of  the   most  dangerous  kinds  of 
venous  bleeding  is  that  from  varicose  veins  in 
the  legs ;  the  same  rules  apply,  elevation  of  the 
limb,  bandages  and  perfect  rest. 

Bleeding   from   the   nose   is   sometimes  difficult   to   stop. 
Cold  substances  or  wet  cloths  should  be  applied 
at   the   back  of  the   neck    on   the  top  of  the 
spine ;  the  nostrils  may  be  syringed  out  with  a 
solution  of  alum  and  very  cold  water  or  vinegar,  or  lemon- 
juice  and  water,   even  with   very  strong  cold  tea;    the  head 
should  not  be  allowed  to  hang  over  the  basin. 

Sometimes  after  extraction  of  a   tooth,   haemorrhage   con- 
tinues for  some  time.     A  small  piece  of  cotton- 
wool dipped  into  steel  drops  or  into  glycerine 
or  lemon-juice  and  pressed  firmly  into  the  cavity 
will  help  to  stop  the  bleeding. 

Internal  haemorrhage  from    the  lungs   or   the  stomach  is 
very  dangerous  and   can  only  be  treated  by  a 
medical  man.     In  the  meantime  absolute  quiet 
is  necessary  and  ice  may  be  given  to  the  patient 
to  suck. 

The  capillaries  are  the  hair-like  blood-vessels  which  connect 
the  arteries  with  the  veins ;  when  cut  or  injured 
the  blood  oozes  slowly  from  them  and  is  easily     hemorrhage, 
stopped  by  placing  a  pad  of  lint  over  the  bleeding 
part. 


190  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

It  is   very   important   that  cuts  should  be  kept  clean   or 

blood-poisoning  may  result.     The  old-fashioned 

plan  of   using    a   cobweb    for    the    purpose    of 

stopping   the  bleeding  should  never    be  resorted   to.     Glass, 

gravel,  etc.  may  be  washed  out  of  a  wound  by  pouring  cold 

water  over  before  bandaging,  and  then  the  edges  of  the   cut 

may  be  carefully  drawn  together  and  strips  of  sticking  plaister 

laid  across,  not  to  cover  the   wound  but   to  keep  the  edges 

together.     The  part  may  then  be  bandaged  up. 

Fractures  and  dislocations  can  only  be  treated  by  a  doctor, 

Fractures       but  ^  *s   verv  necessary  to    understand    as   far 

and  disio-         as  possible  the  nature  of  the  injury  to  prevent 

cations.  _       .  ..._„,  .,      , 

further  mischief.     Fractures  may  easily  be  recog- 
nized by  the  following  simple  rules : 

1.  There  will  be  shortening  and  alteration  in  the  shape 
of  the  limb. 

2.  Inability  to  use  the  injured  leg  or  arm. 

3.  Pain  and  swelling  at  the  seat  of  fracture. 

Simple  fractures  are  often  converted  into  compound  and 
complicated  fractures  by  the  want  of  knowledge  of  those  whose 
duty  it  is  to  render  first  aid. 

A  person  suffering  from  a  fracture  should  never  be  placed 
in  a  cab  or  cart,  but  be  taken  home  or  to  the  hospital  on 
a  stretcher.  A  gate  or  a  shutter  may  be  used  for  this  purpose, 
and  coats  and  cloaks  laid  down  to  make  it  more  comfortable. 
Splints  may  be  improvised  from  an  umbrella,  long  flat  pieces 
of  wood,  or  even  a  broom-handle.  Should  the  leg  or  thigh 
be  fractured,  the  two  feet  may  be  bound  together,  the  sound 
limb  acting  as  a  splint  to  the  injured  one.  Every  precaution 
must  be  taken  to  prevent  jarring  or  further  mischief. 

Dislocations  may  easily  be  distinguished  from  fractures 
as  they  always  occur  at  a  joint.  Swelling  of  the  part  follows 
soon  after  dislocation  and  should  be  reduced  as  quickly  as 
possible,  this  can  only  be^  done  by  a  duly  qualified  person. 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  191 

Bites  should  be  treated  by  pressure  of  some  kind  applied 
above  the  wound  so  as  to  prevent  the  poison 
from  getting  into  the  circulation.  The  wound 
may  be  sucked  and  warm  water  poured  over  it  to  induce 
bleeding,  which  helps  to  carry  off  the  poison.  If  the  animal 
that  caused  the  bite  is  known  to  be  rabid,  cauterisation  should 
be  applied.  Prompt  action  is  the  great  thing  in  order  to  stop 
the  circulation  above  the  wound.  Should  the  bite  be  inflicted 
by  a  dog  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  have  the  animal  destroyed 
at  once  unless  known  to  be  mad.  It  should  be  tied  up  and 
watched  as  the  bite  may  only  have  been  inflicted  because  the 
animal  was  teased  or  some  other  harmless  cause. 

A  raw  onion  slowly  chewed  and  swallowed  is  considered 
an  excellent  remedy  for  a  sting  obtained  while 

J  Stings. 

eating  fruit.     For  external  stings  press  out  by 

means  of  a  small  key,  and  apply  soda  and  water,  ammonia 

and  water,  or  the  homely  blue-bag  moistened. 

§  74.     Food  plays  an    important   part  in    the    sick-room, 
especially  during  convalescence. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  observe  the 
doctor's  orders,  as  disobedience  has  caused 
many  deaths,  especially  in  typhoid  fever.  In 
the  second  place,  the  food  should  be  well- 
cooked,  punctually  and  daintily  served  and  at  regular  intervals, 
the  patient  should  not  be  asked  beforehand  what  he  will  take. 
No  cooking  should  be  carried  on  in  the  sick-room,  nor  food 
left  about.  If  necessary,  milk  may  be  kept  on  the  outside 
window-sill  covered  over  by  a  clean,  ordinary  red  flower-pot. 
Ice  keeps  for  several  days  if  in  a  block  and  wrapped  up  in  a 
blanket  on  the  cellar  floor ;  it  may  be  easily  broken  into  small 
pieces  by  means  of  a  hat  pin.  Sick  people,  and  convalescents 
especially,  like  a  change  of  diet,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  keep 
to  the  same  thing,  such  as  beef-tea,  chicken  and  jelly  day  after 
day.  Any  good  cooking  book  will  furnish  the  names  and 
recipes  of  innumerable  nourishing  and  appetizing  dishes  suitable 


192  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

for  the   sick-room.     It  is   sometimes   necessary  to   give   pre- 
digested  or  peptonized  foods,  and  the  amateur 

Peptonizing.  '      . 

nurse  may  have  some  difficulty  in  knowing  how 
to  prepare  this.  Peptonisation  renders proteid  foods  soluble  and 
capable  of  entering  the  blood.  It  is  accomplished  by  means  of 
liquor  pancreaticus  or  by  peptonising  powders  with  the  addition 
of  a  little  bicarbonate  of  soda;  they  may  be  bought  at  any 
reliable  chemist's.  In  peptonising  milk  for  infants  take  \  pint 
of  new  milk  (it  can  be  boiled  first  and  allowed  to  grow  cold), 
J  pint  cold  water,  and  one  quarter  of  a  peptonising  powder, 
put  them  in  a  jug,  which  is  placed  in  a  basin  of  water  as  hot  as 
the  hand  can  bear,  let  it  stand,  shaking  occasionally;  in  20 
minutes  it  may  be  taken  out  of  the  water,  sweetened  and  a  tea- 
spoonful  or  two  of  cream  added.  If  the  milk  is  not  to  be  used 
at  once  it  may  either  be  boiled  or  set  on  ice ;  boiling  destroys 
the  process,  putting  on  ice  merely  suspends  it.  Gruel,  beef-tea, 
soups,  may  all  be  peptonised.  Starchy  foods  should  be  malted : 
this  is  done  by  mixing  3  ozs.  of  crushed  malt  (see  beer-making) 
in  a  jug  with  £  pint  of  cold  water.  Let  it  stand  12  hours, 
decant  the  liquid,  straining  through  folds  of  muslin  until  it  is 
clear  and  bright.  One  tablespoonful  of  this  liquid  thoroughly 
mixed  with  \  pint  of  gruel  will  in  a  few  minutes  so  digest  it  that 
it  will  become  liquid. 


2.     PRACTICAL  HOUSEKEEPING. 

Economy  and  Thrift. 

§  75.  It  is  essential  that  the  housekeeper  should  fully 
understand  the  income  with  which  she  has  to  deal  or  at  any 
rate  the  allowance  she  will  have  at  her  disposal  for  the  purposes 
of  keeping  house.  Most  people  buy  this  knowledge  by  bitter 
experience,  whereas  all  difficulties  may  be  avoided  if  a  few 
simple  rules  are  observed. 


CHAP.  X.]  Houseivifery.  193 

It  should  be  ascertained  at  the  outset  of  housekeeping  how 
much  money  may  be  spent,  and  this  should  not  be  planned  out 
without  leaving  some  margin  for  unforeseen  events,  as  expenses 
are  apt  to  increase,  and  it  is  far  easier  to  spend  more  than  to 
retrench.  Rent  depends  on  many  contingencies, 
such  as  locality,  health,  work  etc.;  as  a  general 
rule  one-eighth  or  one-tenth  of  the  income  may  be 
devoted  to  this  item,  and  one-third  of  the  rent  may  be  reckoned 
for  taxes.  The  expenditure  on  Food  depends 
on  the  style  of  living;  Ss.  per  head  a  week  is 
the  least  sum  to  allow,  unless  the  household  be  a  large  one : 
i  ctf.  is  the  usual  amount  for  not  less  than  five  in  family,  or  it 
may  be  reckoned  as  follows  :  £i  for  the  master  of  the  house, 
1 5 s.  for  the  mistress,  and  i  oj.  for  each  servant.  Where  possible 
the  books  should  be  paid  weekly,  especially  when  the  income 
is  small.  This  plan  checks  extravagance  and  waste.  Here 
comes  in  the  difficulty  of  the  occasional  fifth  week  in  the 
month,  the  bugbear  of  so  many  housekeepers.  In  calculating 
expenses,  allow  thirteen  months  to  the  year  or  reckon  the  year 
by  weeks.  If  five  weeks  be  allowed  for  each  month  in  the 
year  a  small  margin  is  left  to  meet  extras  such  as  occasional 
visitors,  parties,  etc. 

An  income  of  ;£6oo  a  year  may  be  planned  out  on  the 
following  lines,  but  no  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  laid  down  as 
expenses  must  vary  with  the  family  and  locality : 

£         s-    d. 
Rent        .         .         .         .         .  60       o     o 

Taxes       .....  20  o  o 

Fuel         .....  24  o  o 

Household  Laundry          .         .  20  16  o 

Servants'  Laundry     ...  660 

Food 221  6  o 

Wages      .         .         .         .         .  52  o  o 

Gas  and  lighting       .         .         .  10  o  o 

Clothing  .....  80  o  o 

B.  I3 


194  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

£       '.    d. 
Education        .         .         .         .  40       o     o 

Holiday  .         .         .  40       o     o 

Sundries  .         ...  25      12     o 

It  is  impossible  to  give  a  number  of  detailed  tables  of 
expenditure,  but  one  more  showing  the  very  least  on  which 
people  can  set  up  housekeeping  and  keep  a  servant  may  be 
useful. 

Income  .£200  a  year  : 

£     s.     d. 

Rent  and  Taxes      .  30     o     o 

Food      .         .         .  78     o     o  (;£i.  i  os.  Qd.  a  week) 

Servants'  wages        .  1500 

Clothing          .  40     o     o 

Fuel  and  lighting    .  1200 

Laundry          .         .  700 

Sundries         .       ;  »,  18     o     o 

In  an  income  of  ^600  a  year  allow  £2  a  month  winter 
and  summer  for  coals.  Washing  will  come  to  about  £20  a 
year ;  it  is  generally  possible  to  get  the  servants'  washing  done 
for  IQS.  6d.  a  quarter  each — £2.  2s.  od.  a  year.  A  certain  sum 
should  be  put  aside  for  holiday  expenses,  for  unforeseen  con- 
tingencies such  as  a  doctor's  bill  etc.,  and  for  sundries  which 
include  cabs,  stationery,  newspapers,  amusements  etc.,  and  a 
tenth  of  the  income  should  be  devoted  to  charity. 

Servants'  wages  vary  with  the  style  of  living  and  the  work 
Servants'          required : 

wages. 

A  Cook  gets  from  ^18  and  upwards 

A  Housemaid  „  „  ^15  to  ^£25 

A  Parlourmaid  „  „  ;£i8  to  ^30 

A  General  Servant    „  „  £S    to  ^25 

A  Laundry-maid  „  „  £12  to  ^30 

A  Butler  „  „  ^40  to  ^100  with  board 

A  Footman  ,,  ,,  .£20  to  £60  and  some  livery. 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  195 

In  very  few  houses  are  regular  allowances  given  out  for 
each  servant,  except  in  the  matter  of  tea  and  sugar.  The 
following  list  may  help  mistresses  to  calculate 

3 .  Quantities. 

quantities  in  ordering. 

.  For  meat  the  consumption  depends  on  the  number  in 
family,  a  small  family  requiring  a  larger  proportion  than  a  large 
one.  For  the  former  i  Ib.  a  head  should  be  reckoned,  whereas 
i  to  |  Ib.  with  bone  is  sufficient  for  the  larger  family.  The 
butcher's  book  should  not  exceed  7  Ibs.  a  head  weekly.  Butter 
\  Ib.  a  head  weekly  with,  in  a  small  family,  an  extra  \  Ib.  for 
cooking;  more  if  many  cakes  are  made  at  home.  Of  tea, 
coffee  or  cocoa  4  ozs.  a  head  weekly  are  sufficient.  Sugar  i  Ib 
per  head,  bacon  i  Ib.  a  week,  cheese  \  Ib.,  milk  i  quart  a  week 
for  each  person.  In  ordering  bread  allow  i  Ib.  per  head  a  day. 
These  quantities  are  merely  meant  as  a  guide  for  a  young 
housekeeper ;  experience  will  soon  show  where  more  or  less  is 
required  and  the  quantities  must  be  brought  within  the  limits 
of  the  income. 

§  76.     Besides  the  items  included  in  the  foregoing  tables 
the  question  of  life  insurance  should  always  be 
considered.    Where  future  prospects  are  good,  it     insurance  and 
may  be  possible  to  dispense  with  this  otherwise     Benefit 

.       -J  .   .  Societies. 

indispensable  provision  for  the  future.  A  man 
may  insure  his  life  between  the  ages  of  28  or  30  for  ^500  for 
about  ^15  per  annum.  Life  insurance  may  be  effected  either 
through  a  well-known  Society  or  through  the  Government  by 
means  of  the  Post  Office  by  an  immediate  payment  or  by  an 
annual  payment  extending  over  a  number  of  years.  At  the  age 
of  25  a  man  can  insure  his  life  for  .£100  by  the  payment  of  an 
annual  premium  of  £2.  os.  6d.  through  life  or  of  £2.  125.  od., 
payment  to  cease  at  the  age  of  60.  Besides  life  insurance, 
there  are  many  ways  of  encouraging  thrift  by  means  of  the 
Post  Office  Savings-Bank  or  the  many  well-known  trustworthy 
Societies  such  as  the  Odd  Fellows,  the  Foresters  or  the  Benefit 
Societies  on  the  Holloway  system  attached  to  the  various 

13—2 


196  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

political  parties.  The  Post  Office  Savings-Bank  gives  interest 
at  the  rate  of  2\  per  cent,  upon  every  pound,  as  much  as  .£50 
may  be  deposited  in  one  year,  and  .£200  is  the  highest  total 
amount  received  from  one  person.  The  advantages  of  the  Post 
Office  system  are,  its  perfect  safety,  its  convenience  for  deposit 
and  withdrawal,  its  strict  secrecy.  All  correspondence  is  carried 
on  free  of  charge,  bank  books  and  forms  of  withdrawal  are 
provided  by  the  Government.  For  children  and  others  desirous 
of  saving  their  pennies,  slips  of  paper  marked  with  twelve 
divisions  for  postage  stamps  may  be  obtained  from  the  post 
office,  and  when  twelve  stamps  have  been  obtained,  it  can  be 
handed  in  as  a  shilling  deposit.  The  system  of  Annuities 
undertaken  by  the  Government  through  the  Post  Office  is  of 
two  kinds,  the  Immediate,  obtained  by  payment  of  a  sum  down, 
the  Deferred,  obtained  by  paying  a  certain  sum  down  or  yearly 
for  a  certain  number  of  years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  these 
payments  cease,  and  the  annuity  commences.  All  particulars 
as  to  Annuities  or  the  purchase  of  Government  Stocks  may  be 
obtained  free  of  cost  on  application  to  the  nearest  post  office. 
The  collecting  Savings-Bank  system  established  in  connection 
with  the  Charity  Organization  Society  meets  the  various  needs 
of  the  wage-earning  class.  This  method  increases  the  spirit  of 
wholesome  independence  of  character,  and  helps  those  needing 
help,  to  help  themselves. 

The  Benefit  Societies  provide  for  sickness  or  death1.  For 
joining  the  Odd  Fellows  a  medical  certificate  is  required  and 
members  are  admitted  between  the  ages  of  18  and  44.  An 
entrance  fee  of  2s.  6d.  to  5^.  is  demanded  and  a  weekly  sub- 
scription of  6d.  to  is.  6d.  After  6  months  a  member  may 
receive  Ss.  to  20^.  per  week  during  sickness  for  12  months  and 
during  the  following  12  months  half  the  amount,  afterwards 
one-fourth  as  long  as  illness  lasts.  ^8  to  £20  at  death,  ^4 
to  .£10  at  the  wife's  death.  For  joining  the  Foresters,  a  man 

1  The  rules  of  these  clubs  vary  somewhat  with  the  district  in  which 
they  are  established. 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  197 

must  be  between  18  and  40,  .of  good  health  and  character. 
Birth  and  medical  certificates  are  required,  the  entrance  fee, 
according  to  age  from  2s.  6d.  to  5^.  After  12  months  the 
member  receives  los.  to  205-.  per  week  during  sickness,  £12  to 
£24.  at  death,  £6  to  £12  at  the  wife's  death. 

The  Benefit  Societies  connected  with  the  political  parties 
have  the  following  objects:  (i)  to  pay  a  weekly  allowance  to 
members  in  times  of  ordinary  sickness;  (2)  to  ensure  the 
payment  of  a  sum  of  money  on  the  death  of  a  member  to  his 
or  her  nominee  or  representatives ;  (3)  to  make  provision  for 
the  maintenance  of  members  in  old  age.  These  objects  are 
obtained  by  the  voluntary  subscriptions  of  members  in  accord- 
ance with  a  table  drawn  up  and  submitted  to  those  wishing 
to  join.  On  attaining  the  age  of  65,  members  retire  from  the 
Society  and  receive  the  whole  of  their  savings  without  deduction. 

The  Co-operative  Societies,  organizations  managed  chiefly 
by  the  working-people  themselves,  present  other  methods  of 
thrift,  self-control  and  self-help.  This  system  was  started  in 
1844  by  workmen  in  the  north  of  England,  who  devised  the 
plan  of  dividing  the  profits  of  a  business  among  the  customers 
by  a  system  of  tickets  given  with  each  purchase  and  exchange- 
able for  money  or  shares.  This  system  flourishes  best  in  the 
north,  and  has  not  taken  deep  root  in  the  south,  even  in 
London.  The  system  of  insurance  can  successfully  meet  the 
difficulty  of  maintenance  during  sickness,  but  it  is  less  easy  to 
apply  to  the  need  of  medical  treatment.  The  system  of  Provi- 
dent Dispensaries  is  an  application  of  the  principle  of  insurance 
to  this  need.  Where  these  dispensaries  are  so  placed  that  they 
are  not  obliged  to  compete  with  free  hospitals,  they  prove  a 
valuable  means  of  securing  for  their  members  medical  attend- 
ance at  very  small  cost. 

Besides  the  questions  of  insurance  and  saving,  a  young 
housekeeper  on  a  small  income  will  do  well  to 

,  ,  ...  Income  Tax. 

understand  something  about  the  Income  Tax. 

For  this  purpose  it  is  necessary  to  know  and  to  put  down  all 


198  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

the  sources  from  whence  the  income  is  derived.  At  the  time 
of  writing  the  tax  amounts  to  is.  in  the  ;£,  but  abatement  up 
to  £7°°  a  Year  may  be  claimed  according  to  the  following 
table  :— 

When  the  Income  exceeds  £160  but  does  not  exceed  ^400,  an 
Abatement  of  £160  may  be  claimed. 

When  the  Income  exceeds  ^400  but  does  not  exceed  ^500,  an 
Abatement  of  ,£150  may  be  claimed. 

When  the  Income  exceeds  ^500  but  does  not  exceed  /"6oo,  an 
Abatement  of  ^120  may  be  claimed. 

When  the  Income  exceeds  ^600  but  does  not  exceed  ^700,  an 
Abatement  of  ^70  may  be  claimed. 

The  form  to  be  filled  up  may  be  obtained  from  the  Inland 
Revenue,  Somerset  House,  London,  W.C.  or  through  the  local 
office  of  the  Inland  Revenue.  Total  exemption  from  the  pay- 
ment of  Income  Tax  may  be  claimed  for  an  income  of  under 
.£160.  The  claim  for  abatement  may  be  made  as  soon  as 
the  year's  income  has  been  received. 

Certain  duties  or  taxes  are  payable  annually  and  should  be 

Duties.  considered  when  portioning  out  the  income,  i.e. 

dog  license  *js.  6d.;  armorial  bearings  £1.  is.  cv/., 

if  used  on  carriages  £2.  2s.  od.     Carriages  are  taxed  according 

to  the  number  of  wheels,  and  every  man  servant  i$s.    Receipts 

upon  payment  of  money  amounting  to  £2  or  upwards  should 

be  signed  over  id.  stamp. 

§  77.     Discount  is  an  allowance  made  where  goods  are  sold 
or  purchased,  generally  for  prompt  or  advanced 

Discount.  '  ° 

payment.      rive    per    cent,    equals    is.    in    the 

pound,    10  per  cent,   equals  2J.,   2\  per  cent,  equals  6d.,   i] 

equals  $d.    The  general  rule  for  finding  commercial  discount  is 

to  multiply  the  amount  by  the  rate  per  cent,  and  divide  by  IOD. 

A  young  housekeeper  sometimes  finds  a  difficulty  in  dealing 

with  cheques,  therefore  a  short  explanation  as 

Cheques. 

to  their  nature  may  not  be  out  of  place.  A 
cheque  is  an  authority  for  a  Banker  to  pay  money  and  is 
of  three  kinds :  cheques  payable  to  "  Bearer,"  to  "  Order," 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  199 

and  "Crossed  cheques."  A  cheque  "to  Bearer"  is  payable  to 
any  person  who  may  present  it.  A  cheque  "  to  Order  "  must 
first  be  endorsed  by  the  person  to  whom  the  cheque  is  made 
payable,  that  is,  he  must  write  his  name  on  the  back.  A 
"crossed  cheque"  is  one  on  which  two  parallel  lines  are  drawn 


and  the  words  "&  Co."  written  between,  thus     //    .    When 


forwarding  money  by  post,  crossed  cheques  should  always  be 
used,  as  they  can  only  be  cashed  through  a  bank. 

In  order  that  money  spent  on  housekeeping  may  be 
accounted  for,  and  to  be  able  to  ascertain  quickly  whether  the 
amount  laid  aside  for  this  purpose  is  being  overdrawn  or  not, 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  accounts,  but  these  may  be  of  the 
simplest  kind.  A  cash  book  contains  an  account  of  all  cash 
receipts  and  cash  payments,  with  the  discount  allowed.  It 
should  be  a  book  ruled  for  money  and  arranged  as  follows  :— 


Dr.  Cr. 


Date. 


Enter  here  all  monies 
received. 


Date. 


Enter  here  all  payments, 
with  discounts  deducted. 


To  balance :  cast  up  the  Dr.  side  and  the  Cr.  side  sepa- 
rately, find  the  difference  which  exists  between  the  two  sides 
and  place  that  difference  on  the  lighter.  The  meaning  of  an 
account  is  not  altered  by  this  process,  the  difference  which 
existed  between  the  original  entries  is  still  the  same,  but  the 
amount  is  now  visible.  This  difference,  added  to  the  Cr.  side, 
should  agree  with  the  cash  actually  in  hand.  If  the  difference 
has  to  be  placed  upon  the  Dr.  side  it  implies  either  that  some 
monies  received  have  not  been  duly  entered  or  that  money  has 
been  borrowed  from  some  source  to  pay  bills.  The  term 
Debtor  (Dr.)  usually  means  the  one  who  owes,  Creditor  (Cr.) 
one  to  whom  money  is  due.  They  are  also  used  as  adjectives — 
Dr.  side,  Cr.  side ;  then  they  simply  distinguish  one  side  of  the 
account  from  the  other.  "  To  debit "  means  to  place  an 
amount  on  the  left-hand  or  Dr.  siSe  of  an  account;  "to 


2OO  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

credit "  means  to  place  an  amount  on  the  right-hand  or  Cr. 
side  of  an  account.  It  is  advisable  to  have  a  fixed  time  for 
balancing  accounts,  and  where  economy  is  an  object  this 
should  be  done  weekly. 


Domestic  Servants  and  their  duties. 

§  78.     The  engaging  and  management  of  servants  is  con- 
fessedly one  of  the  chief  difficulties  of  the  present 

Servants.  ....  .       . 

day  and  one  which  threatens  to  revolutionize  the 
system  of  Housekeeping  which  up  to  the  present  has  formed 
one  of  the  chief  features  of  an  English  home.  It  is  impossible 
to  discuss  this  burning  question,  but  as  probably  ignorance  on 
the  part  of  both  mistress  and  maid  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
the  matter,  especially  in  ordinary  households,  a  few  practical 
suggestions  may  be  of  use  to  the  young  housekeeper.  A 
reference  to  the  scale  of  servants'  wages  was  made  on  p.  ^94 
in  connection  with  the  division  of  income,  so  that  we  pass  at 
once  to  the  engaging  of  servants  and  the  various  duties  ex- 
pected from  them. 

The  two  methods  generally  employed  to  obtain  a  servant 

are  by  advertisement  or  through  a  registry  office. 

officesStry  1°  both  these  ways  great  care  must  be  exercised ; 

in  the  first  place  that  the  advertisement  is  bona- 

fide,  in  the  second  that  the  office  bears  a  good  character.    The 

good  old-fashioned  way  of  obtaining   a  servant  through  the 

Vicar's  wife  in  a  Country  Parish  has  nearly  passed  away. 

When  engaging  a  servant  spare  no  trouble  in  finding  out  as 
much  as  possible  about  the  person  you  propose 
to  make  a  member  of  your  household,  and  this 
is  especially  necessary  with  regard  to  nurses,  to 
whom  the  great  responsibility  of  the  early  training  and  care  of 
a  child  are  to  be  confided. 

The  first  essential  is  not  to  take  a  servant  unless  a  personal 
interview  is  possible,  or  failing  that,  the  last  mistress  has  been 
corresponded  with  personally,  not  through  a  third  person.  A 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  201 

servant  who  has  been  long  out  of  place  should  be  carefully 
enquired  about  and  no  story  believed  unless  it  can  be  authen- 
ticated. It  is  never  advisable  to  engage  a  servant  whose 
master  or  mistress  has  gone  abroad,  unless  a  friend  of  the 
family  can  be  interviewed,  and  a  domestic,  who  speaks  badly 
of  her  last  place  and  accuses  her  employers  of  drunkenness 
should  be  avoided.  At  the  same  time  perfection  is  not  to  be 
had  even  should  it  be  expected ;  as  in  all  intercourse  with  our 
fellow  creatures  it  is  a  case  of  "  bear  and  forbear."  In  arranging 
for  an  interview  with  a  former  mistress,  a  stamped  envelope 
for  reply  should  be  enclosed,  and  when  the  appointment 
is  settled  it  should  be  punctually  kept.  There  is  no  law 
compelling  a  mistress  to  give  a  personal  interview  or  even  a 
character,  but  where  possible  it  should  always  be  done.  Any- 
one with  moderate  shrewdness  can  soon  find  out  whether  the 
mistress  is  just  or  not,  by  observing  whether  the  house  looks 
tidy  and  well-managed  etc.  Absolute  truthfulness  should  be 
observed  in  giving  a  character,  suspicions  should  never  be 
mentioned,  and  in  giving  a  written  character  nothing  should  be 
said  that  cannot  be  proved. 

It  is  customary  to  give  a  month's  notice  on  either  side  or  a 
month's  wages  unless  a  special  arrangement  has  been  made. 
If  a  servant  be  dismissed  without  notice,  he  or  she  cannot 
claim  a  month's  board  wages  unless  it  was  included  in  the 
original  agreement.  A  servant  may  be  dismissed  without 
notice  for  the  following  causes,  which  must  be  provable : 
dishonesty,  drunkenness,  immorality  in  the  house,  hopeless 
incompetence.  Masters  and  mistresses  are  not  bound  to 
provide  a  doctor  or  medicine  for  their  servants,  but  if  they 
send  (for  the  doctor  they  are  bound  to  pay  the  fee  and  cannot 
deduct  it  from  the  wages.  Neither  can  a  master  or  mistress 
legally  claim  compensation  or  deduct  from  wages  for  broken 
articles  however  careless  the  servant  may  have  been,  unless  an 
agreement  to  that  effect  has  been  made  beforehand.  A 
mistress  who  has  given  a  servant  a  character  upon  the  strength 


2O2  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

of  which  she  has  obtained  a  situation  should  not,  if  the  servant 
leaves  at  the  end  of  a  few  weeks,  consent  to  be  referred  to 
again,  unless  the  reason  for  leaving  be  clearly  not  the  servant's 
fault :  the  character  should  be  given  by  the  last  mistress.  In 
engaging  a  servant  set  forth  the  duties  as  plainly  as  possible. 
There  is  no  better  plan  in  household  management  than  for  the 
mistress  to  think  out  a  table  of  work  for  each  servant,  whether 
she  has  one  or  several.  The  plan  must  vary  with  each  house- 
hold, be  written  or  type-written  very  plainly  and  pasted  on 
card-board  and  hung  up  in  each  department ;  this  saves  much 
friction  and  avoids  that  formula  so  well-known  to  housekeepers : 
"  It  is  not  my  place/'  It  is  often  somewhat  difficult  to  know 
exactly  what  should  be  expected  from  each  servant,  and  in 
making  out  a  time-table  it  is  necessary  to  know  something  of 
the  duties  which  should  fall  to  each  and  also  in  planning  out 
the  work  to  remember  that  servants  require  leisure  and  fresh 
air,  and  no  household  can  be  expected  to  progress  or  run 
smoothly  where  the  comforts  and  welfare  of  the  servants  are 
totally  disregarded.  Where  young  under-servants  are  kept, 
such  as  kitchen  or  scullery  maids  or  that  mysterious  being 
known  as  a  "tweeny"  (between  kitchen  and  house)  the  mistress 
should  have  a  kindly  eye  to  their  well-being  and  see  that  they 
are  not  over-worked  and  get  sufficient  food,  sleep  and  exercise. 
A  butler  in  ordinary  households  is  the  chief  servant  and 
has  the  charge  of  the  wine  and  plate.  His 
duties  further  include  waiting  at  meals,  carving, 
the  serving  of  wine,  tea  and  coffee.  He  answers 
the  front  door  and  drawing-room  bells,  announces  visitors  and 
attends  to  messages,  letters  and  cards.  In  most  houses  he  has 
charge  of  the  billiard  room  and  study,  and  is  responsible  for 
his  own  pantry  and  the  safe  shutting-up  of  the  house  at  night. 

The  footman  is  sometimes  the  complement  to  the  butler, 
sometimes  he  combines  the  duties  of  a  valet  and  a  parlour- 
maid. Where  only  one  is  kept  he  cleans  the  boots,  knives, 
windows,  calls  the  gentlemen  of  the  household,  lays  breakfast 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  203 

clears  away,  washes  up  glass,  silver  and  china.  He  also  fills 
the  coal-scuttles,  trims  lamps  and  attends  to  the  fires  and  the 
bells.  His  duties  also  include  the  cleaning  of  silver,  waiting, 
carrying  up  hot  water  to  the  gentlemen's  rooms  and  care  of 
their  clothes.  A  parlourmaid  is  a  female  butler  and  her  duties 
are  the  same  as  his. 

A  housemaid's  work  depends  to  a  certain  extent  on  the 
number  of  servants  kept,  but  her  special  duties  are  dusting  and 
putting  rooms  in  order  every  day  with  special  cleaning  of  the 
same  once  a  week.  She  also  has  care  of  the  housemaid's 
closet  and  cloths  and  has  to  attend  to  the  cleaning  of  brushes, 
combs  and  sponges.  A  single-handed  kitchenmaid  will  have 
the  kitchen  range  to  clean  and  light  in  the  morning,  the 
kitchen  itself  to  clean  and  any  passages  that  may  be  allotted  to 
her.  She  will  have  all  the  dishes,  pots  and  pans  to  keep  and 
the  vegetables  to  clean  and  cook.  She  has  also  to  prepare  the 
servants'  food  and  to  assist  the  cook  and  wash  up.  Where  a 
scullery-maid  is  kept,  most  of  the  cleaning  devolves  on  her  and 
the  preparation  of  the  vegetables,  the  kitchen-maid  doing  all 
the  plain  cooking  and  helping  the  cook.  In  a  small  establish- 
ment where  only  a  cook  and  house-parlourmaid  are  kept,  the 
duties  should  be  very  carefully  thought  out  and  the  mistress 
will  have  to  undertake  some  of  the  lighter  work  herself,  such  as 
washing  and  dusting  china  and  "  knic-nacks,"  sorting  and 
counting  the  linen  for  the  laundry,  mending  and  putting  away 
house  linen,  arranging  the  flowers.  The  following  table  for  a 
house  where  only  two  maids  are  kept  may  be  useful.  Wherever 
possible  a  boy  should  be  employed  if  only  for  a  couple  of  hours 
daily,  to  clean  knives  and  boots,  fill  coal-scuttles  and  go  on 
errands. 

The  Cook  should  light  kitchen  fire  at  6  a.m. 

Sweep  basement,  passage,  hall,  and  dining  cook's°Duties. 
room.  Clean  boots  and  knives*  (this  can  be 

*  It  is  usual  for  the  housemaid  to  clean  the  dining-room  knives  and  the 
ladies'  boots,  while  the  cook  does  the  kitchen  knives  and  gentlemen's  boots. 


2O4  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

done  over-night  if  wished),  dust  the  dining-room  and  prepare 
breakfast  for  both  kitchen  and  dining-room. 

Time  :  —  Kitchen  breakfast  7.30  a.m.  Dining-room  8.30  a.m. 
After  breakfast  clear  away  and  wash  up,  having  everything  tidy 
in  time  for  the  mistress'  visit  to  the  kitchen  to  order  meals. 
Answer  door-bell  in  the  morning.  Cook  the  meals  and  wash 
up  plates  and  dishes  afterwards,  leave  the  kitchen  tidy  for  the 
night. 

Special  Work. 

Monday.  Polish  brasses  and  tins. 

Tuesday.  Turn  out  larder  and  pantry. 

Wednesday.  Clean  the  dining-room  and  hall. 
Thursday.  „       ,,     servants'  room. 

Friday.  „       „    kitchen  range  and  flues. 

Saturday.  „       ,,    kitchen  and  prepare  for  Sunday. 

The    House  -  Parlourmaid    should    rise    at    7   a.  m.,    take 

up    early    tea    (if    required)    and    hot   water   at 

House-5  8  a-m-      Sweep   and   dust    the  stairs.     Lay  the 


kitchen  and  dining-room  breakfasts.  After 
breakfast,  do  the  bedrooms  and  drawing-room. 
Lay  the  table  for  the  middle-day  meal,  clear  away,  wash  up 
glass  and  silver  and  be  ready  to  answer  the  door  by  3  p.m. 
(It  is  better  to  allow  \  hour  before  lunch  for  the  housemaid 
to  change  her  dress  and  get  ready  for  the  afternoon.)  Bring 
up  afternoon  tea  at  5  p.m.  Lay  the  dinner,  take  up  hot 
water.  Wait  at  table.  Wash  up  silver  and  glass.  Lay  kitchen 
supper.  Arrange  bedrooms  for  the  night.  Take  up  hot  water. 

Special  duties. 

Monday.          Prepare  clothes  for  the  laundress  and  turn 

out  the  best  bedroom. 

Tuesday.          Turn  out  one  or  more  bedrooms. 
Wednesday.     Turn  out  the  drawing-room. 
Thursday.        Turn  out  the  study  and  bathroom.     Clean 

the  stair  rods. 


CHAP.  X,]  Housewifery.  205 

Friday.  Clean  the  silver  and  tidy  the  housemaid's 

pantry  and  the  china  closet. 

Saturday.         Count  the  clothes  from  the  laundress,  air, 
and  put  them  away. 

At  the  end  of  each  list  of  duties  it  is  well  to  add  the 
arrangements  made  for  going  out  on  Sundays  and  week-days, 
and  when  possible  specify  the  time  allotted  to  each  maid. 

Whenever  a  new  servant  is  engaged,  she  should  be  given  a 
list  of  the  various  things  under  her  care,  the  mistress  keeping 
the  duplicate.  Even  where  no  change  takes  place  in  the 
domestic  arrangements,  these  lists  should  be  gone  through 
carefully  at  least  once  a  year  and  worn  out  or  broken  articles 
replaced  or  mended. 

*  No  beer '  is  the  best  rule,  and  certainly  no  '  beer  money ' ; 
the  latter  often  induces  drinking.  Board  wages  vary  from  yj-. 
to  i$s.  a  week  each ;  money  for  laundry  should  never  be  included 
in  the  wages.  The  allowance  varies  from  gd.  to  is.  6d.  a  week 
except  in  the  case  of  nurses  wearing  white  dresses,  when  a 
larger  sum  is  needed. 

To  furnish  a  housemaid's  closet  the  following  are  required  : 

A  box  known  as  a  housemaid's  box  containing  a  pair  of 
gloves,  a  coarse  piece  of  crash  or  sacking  for  the  front  of  the 
fire-place,  brushes,  black  lead,  bath  brick,  etc.  Three  to  six 
dusters,  dust  sheets,  two  good  chamois  leathers,  a  set  of 
brooms  and  brushes — the  latter  for  cleaning  plate  as  well  as 
rooms,  a  decanter  drainer,  a  wooden  bowl  for  washing-up  in 
and  another  for  rinsing  purposes,  half-a-dozen  tea  and  glass 
cloths.  As  a  rule  the  housemaid  should  wash  out  her  own 
cloths  and  dusters. 

The  question  of  food  is  sometimes  a  difficulty.  In  small 
families  it  will  be  found  by  far  the  best  way  to  allow  the 
servants  to  make  their  supper  off  what  is  left  from  the  dining- 
room  late  dinner,  always  with  a  proviso  that  any  special  dish 
is  to  be  reserved.  Under  these  circumstances  a  simple  lunch 
may  be  provided  for  the  kitchen.  Sometimes,  and  especially 


206  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

where  there  are  children,  it  is  advisable  to  have  the  joint  at 
lunch  time  when  the  servants  get  it  for  their  own  dinner.  With 
reference  to  meat  other  than  that  allowed  at  dinner,  a  "relish  " 
as  it  is  termed  should  be  given  three  times  a  week,  and  if  only 
a  plain  supper  is  given,  a  relish  may  be  allowed  for  tea  on  those 
when  a  plain  breakfast  has  been  the  order  of  the  day.  If  the 
mistress  knows  how  long  things  should  last,  she  can  soon  check 
any  waste.  The  actual  food  allowance  per  head  in  the 
kitchen  is :  half  a  pound  of  butter,  one  pound  of  sugar  and 
a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  tea  per  week ;  one  third  of  a  pint  of 
milk  daily. 

After  the  planning  and  arranging  the  servants'  work,  the 
linen  cupboard  comes  next  in  importance.     In 
cupboard  olden,  days  the  plenishing  of  this  especial  cup- 

board was  the  pride  of  the  housewife ;  now  that 
spinning  is  no  longer  fashionable  and  that  everything  can  be 
bought,  this  part  of  household  furnishing  is  often  neglected. 
First  as  to  quantities.  It  is  a  mistake  to  have  too  little,  each 
article  is  then  constantly  in  use  and  there  is  not  enough  to  use 
on  an  emergency.  This  linen  cupboard  should  be  the  pride  of 
the  mistress  and  tended  accordingly.  The  usual  allowance  is 
three  pairs  of  sheets  to  each  bed,  or  in  some  cases  five  pair 
between  two,  with  three  slips  to  each  pillow,  three  hand  towels 
per  head  and  three  bath  towels  to  each  couple.  In  a  small 
family  the  average  should  be  half-a-dozen  towels  to  each  person. 
Bath  sheets  are  a  matter  of  taste  but  at  least  one  should  be 
allowed  to  each  bedroom.  Table  cloths  generally  have  twelve 
napkins  to  match  them.  In  some  houses,  it  is  customary  to 
have  different  cloths  for  lunch  and  breakfast,  to  what  are  used 
for  dinner,  in  which  case  three  dinner  cloths  with  napkins  to 
match,  and  three  breakfast  cloths,  with  a  best  cloth  and  napkins 
for  special  occasions,  will  be  sufficient  to  start  with.  For  quilts 
and  toilet  covers,  two  quilts  for  each  bed  should  be  purchased, 
the  same  rule  applying  to  toilet  covers.  Three  roller  towels 
should  be  reckoned  for  each  roller  and  at  least  half-a-dozen 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery,  207 

cloths  and  dusters  to  each  maid.  The  servants'  bed-clothes 
and  table  linen  should  be  on  precisely  the  same  scale  but 
different  in  quality.  Besides  these,  there  are  fancy  cloths  of  all 
kinds,  such  as  tea,  sideboard  and  tray  cloths,  d'oyleys  etc.,  but 
they  vary  in  quantity  and  quality  with  each  household.  House- 
linen  varies  considerably  in  price,  and  a  list  may  be  obtained 
from  any  reliable  firm. 

§  79.  Associated  with  lighter,  warmer  days,  and  the  promise 
of  summer,  comes  the  well-known,  much-dreaded 
household  upheaval  known  as  spring  cleaning.  c^™^ 
After  months  of  gloom  and  wet,  of  fires  and 
artificial  light,  the  reappearance  of  the  sun  draws  attention  to 
many  a  corner  that  has  escaped  even  a  practised  mistress'  eye 
and  shows  how  soiled  all  curtains  and  hangings  have  become. 
With  the  lengthening  days  a  good  housewife  sets  about  looking 
through  stores,  seeing  what  white-washing  and  papering  is 
required  and  planning  alterations.  Where  work-people  have  to 
be  employed,  it  is  best  to  take  advantage  of  the  absence  of 
several  members  of  the  family,  leaving  a  responsible  person  in 
charge ;  but  where  ordinary  spring  cleaning  has  to  be  gone 
through  a  little  planning  and  arranging  will  enable  it  to  be 
carried  out  to  the  minimum  discomfort  of  the  inhabitants. 
One  room  or  floor  may  be  done  at  a  time,  the  whole  house 
need  not  be  turned  upside  down  at  once.  If  possible  choose  a 
fine,  dry  day.  The  bed-clothes  should  all  be 
removed  and  the  bedstead  thoroughly  cleaned  b?d°£™  out  a 
and  dusted,  the  mattresses  well  beaten  and 
looked  carefully  over  to  see  that  the  tick  is  not  worn  or  any  of 
the  buttons  loose.  The  blankets  should  be  well  shaken  out  of 
doors  and  those  no  longer  in  use  put  carefully  away  packed  up 
with  napthalene  or  camphor  to  keep  off  moths.  Turpentine 
applied  freely  to  the  places  they  are  believed  to  infest  is  the 
best  cure.  Brown  paper  may  be  stewed  in  turpentine  and 
fastened  underneath  all  the  furniture.  Things  packed  away 
may  be  sprinkled  with  dried  alum  powdered  with  bitter  apple 


208  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

or  pepper.  It  is  well  to  change  the  remedies  occasionally  as 
after  a  time  moths  appear  to  get  over  their  objections  to  any 
particular  one.  Blankets  should  not  be  washed  too  often  and 
only  by  a  competent  person  who  understands  the  cleaning 
of  woollen  goods  (see  page  224).  Curtains  and  valances 
should  be  well  brushed  and  shaken  and  then  pinned  up.  The 
bed  is  then  made  if  the  room  is  in  use,  covered  closely  with 
dusting  sheets.  These  are  best  made  of  holland,  crash  or 
twilled  unbleached  calico.  They  should  always  be  used  one 
way,  the  hem  showing  the  right  side  so  that  the  clean  side  may 
always  be  against  the  furniture.  As  many  articles  as  possible 
should  be  removed  from  the  room  and  each  brushed,  dusted, 
and  polished,  and  covered  closely  with  a  dusting  sheet.  Rugs 
or  movable  squares  may  be  rolled  and  taken  out 
of  doors  for  shaking  or  beating.  A  carpet 
should  be  laid  over  a  clothes  line  and  beaten 
with  canes  until  the  dust  ceases.  It  should  then  be  laid  flat 
and  brushed  on  both  sides  with  a  carpet  brush,  folded  by  the 
seams  and  put  away  until  wanted.  To  clean  carpets,  rub 
them  over  with  a  damp  sponge  and  dry  with  a  coarse  cloth. 
Salt  and  vinegar  should  be  put  into  the  water  in  the  proportion 
of  one  table-spoonful  of  each  to  a  quart  of  water. 

These  floor-cloths  should  not  be  washed  too  often  but  may 
be  kept  fresh  and  bright  by  rubbing  over  with  a 

Linoleum. 

dry  cloth.  Once  a  week  they  may  be  washed 
with  warm  water  and  soap  and  when  thoroughly  dry  rubbed 
over  with  a  flannel  dipped  in  milk.  Beeswax  and  turpentine 
will  give  a  high  polish,  but  render  the  linoleum  so  slippery  as 
to  be  dangerous. 

When  the  pictures  have  been  taken  down,  the  chimney 

should  be  swept  and  the  grate  and  fire-irons 
fire'ircms*11  cleaned  and  polished.  It  is  advisable  to  sweep 

the  room  before  polishing  the  grate.  The  black- 
lead  should  be  mixed  with  a  little  turpentine  and  applied 
lightly  and  then  brushed  off  with  a  hard  grate  brush  and  finally 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  209 

polished  with  a  soft  brush.  Steel  fireirons  may  be  cleaned 
with  fine  emery  paper  and  polished  with  a  leather.  For  keeping 
them  all  bright  use  powdered  bath-brick  and  equal  quantities  of 
water  and  methylated  spirit  made  into  a  paste.  Brass  fenders 
etc.  may  be  treated  with  ordinary  polishing  paste  or  sapolio;  or, 
if  much  tarnished,  a  cut  lemon  or  a  little  paraffin  oil  rubbed  on 
will  clean  them  beautifully.  This  same  treatment  applies  to 
stair-rods,  copper  kettles,  etc.  Most  modern  copper  and  brass 
goods  are  laquered  (this  is  done  to  prevent  tarnish)  and  should 
never  be  cleaned  with  any  kind  of  polishing  paste  or  powder. 
They  only  need  wiping  with  a  damp  cloth  and  polishing  with  a 
leather  or  soft  duster. 

Most  hearths  are  now  tiled  and  only  need  wiping  with  a 
damp  cloth,  but  should  they  be  made  of  stone, 

,        -   ..        .  Hearths. 

clean  in  the  following  way  :  Take  up  all  the  dust 
from  the  hearth  with  dustpan  and  brush  and  wash  all  over  with 
flannel  and  warm  water.  Then  rub  on  hearth-stone  or  pipe- 
clay, the  latter  mixed  with  water  or  milk  to  the  thickness  of 
cream.  Wring  the  flannel  dry  and  wipe  all  over  to  get  a  smooth 
surface,  this  should  be  done  across  from  side  to  side,  not  round 
and  round.  Instead  of  pipe-clay,  Venetian  red,  a  powder  sold 
at  the  chemist's,  is  sometimes  used.  This  should  be  mixed 
with  water,  put  on  with  a  brush  as  smoothly  as  possible  and 
left  to  dry. 

Cupboards  and  drawers  should  be  turned  out,  scrubbed, 
and  when  thoroughly  dry,  re-papered. 

Pictures,    when    carefully   dusted,  should   have   the   glass 
washed  with  ammonia  and  water  and  when  dry 
polished  with  a  dry  cloth;  gilt  frames  may  be     p^ures*™1 
gently  wiped  with  a   damp   cloth.     Small   soft 
brushes  with  long  light  bamboo  handles  can  now  be  obtained 
for  brushing  down  walls,  or  in  their  absence  a  broom  may  be 
used  covered  with  a  soft  duster  or  cloth,  care  must  be  taken 
to  change  the  cloth  as  soon  as  it  gets  soiled. 

,,,.     ,       •  .  Windows. 

Windows  in  many  places  can  be  cleaned  by  men 

B.  14 


2IO  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

whose  special  business  it  is,  and  in  the  case  of  high  windows 
this  is  generally  the  best  method  and  prevents  accidents  which 
often  occur  when  servants  sit  on  a  window  sill  and  can  only 
reach  the  panes  by  leaning  out  in  a  most  dangerous  manner. 
The  dust  should  be  rubbed  off  the  windows  first  both  inside 
and  out  and  the  sills  washed ;  the  glass  may  then  be  cleaned 
with  a  chamois  leather  or  a  sponge  wrung  out  of  tepid  water, 
and  polished  with  another  leather;  ammonia  added  to  the  water 
gives  the  glass  greater  brilliance.  Hot  or  even  warm  water 

should  never  be  used  to  clean  paint,  as  it  destroys 
Woodwork.  tne  varnish  and  the  paint  soon  wears  off.  In 

cleaning  wood-work  wash,  beginning  at  the 
bottom  and  working  upward,  with  a  flannel  and  soap-suds,  this 
prevents  dirty  marks  from  running  down  and  making  streaks  : 
rinse  with  a  sponge  and  tepid  water  and  dry  with  a  soft  cloth. 

In  sweeping  a  room,  begin  at  one  end  and  sweep 

towards  the  fire-place  or  towards  one  spot  from 
which  the  dust  may  be  gathered  up.  Tea-leaves  are  used  to 
prevent  the  dust  from  rising  and  should  first  be  put  into  a 
colander,  washed  in  cold  water  and  squeezed  dry.  If  put 
straight  on  to  a  floor  or  carpet  they  are  apt  to  stain.  Boards 
should  be  swept  with  a  hair  brush  and  carpets  with,  a  twig.  A 
so-called  carpet-sweeper  requires  careful  use  and  is  apt  to  take 
the  nap  off  the  carpet  as  well  as  the  dust.  When  the  carpets 
have  been  taken  up  and  the  room  swept,  the  floor  should  be 

scrubbed,  and  care  must  be  taken  not  to  do  this 

Scrubbing.  .       .  ....  .     . 

late  in  the  afternoon  if  the  room  is  in  use.  There 
are  a  few  important  points  to  remember  in  scouring  rooms, 
i.  Scrub  the  way  of  the  grain  of  the  wood.  2.  Change  the 
water  directly  it  is  dirty.  3.  Always  leave  the  doors  and 
windows  open  after  scrubbing  so  that  the  air  may  dry  the 
room.  4.  Choose  a  fine  day  for  the  operation. 

Grease  marks  may  be  removed  by  making  a  paste  of  fuller's 
earth  and  hot  water  and  laying  it  when  cold  in  a  thick  layer 
over  the  marks.  It  should  remain  on  for  at  least  24  hours  and 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  2  1  1 

then   be  scoured  off.     In   many  houses   now  the  boards  are 
stained  and  rugs  laid  down  here  and  there.     A 

.  _  „  Stained 

good  floor  stain  may  be  made  as  follows  :  —  Floors  and 


i  Ib.  of  burnt  umber  ground  in  oil,  i  gallon 
linseed  oil.  Boil  the  oil  and  mix  with  it  enough 
umber  to  make  the  colour  desired.  It  may  be  tried  on  a 
piece  of  wood.  Rub  the  mixture  into  the  floor,  the  way  of 
the  grain  of  the  wood,  with  a  piece  of  flannel  tied  on  to  a 
piece  of  stick.  When  dry,  rub  off  the  superfluous  stain  and 
the  floor  is  then  ready  for  bees-waxing.  Permanganate  of 
potash  dissolved  in  water  also  makes  a  good  floor  stain. 

Floorine  and  other  preparations  may  be  bought  at  any 
ironmonger's,  but  the  first  staining  is  the  most  important  and 
should  be  done  by  a  competent  person.  If  not  well  done  the 
stain  wears  off  in  patches  and  there  is  no  remedy  except  having 
the  floor  planed,  always  a  matter  of  expense.  Polished  floors 
should  be  beeswaxed  and  polished  once  a  week.  The  beeswax, 
about  is.  6d.  a  Ib.,  should  be  finely  shredded  into  a  jar, 
covered  with  turpentine  and  placed  near  gentle  heat  until 
dissolved  and  of  the  consistency  of  thick  cream.  This  polish 
may  also  be  used  for  furniture,  but  it  will  spoil  good  dusters, 
and  old  soft  rags  should  be  kept  for  the  purpose  ;  they  can  be 
burnt  when  dirty.  Another  recipe  for  furniture  polish  is  ^  pint 
turpentine,  J  pint  linseed  oil,  J  pint  methylated  spirit  and 
j-  pint  vinegar  mixed  well  together  and  put  into  a  wide-necked 
bottle.  Boiled  linseed  oil  may  be  used  for  rubbing  up  old  oak 
furniture,  oil  and  vinegar  mixed  together  in  equal  proportions 
are  excellent  for  furniture  cleaning. 

Marble  is  found  either  as  forming  a  top  to  the  washstand  or 
as  part  of  the  fire-place,  and  as  a  rule  soap  and 
water  will  be  sufficient  to  keep  it  clean.     If  very 
dirty  and  stained,  monkey  brand  soap  or  hot  vinegar  and  water 
may  be  used;   if  not  successful  the  following  recipe  may  be 
tried  :  Boil  f  Ib.  soap  with  i  £  pints  of  water  ;  stir  in  3  Ibs.  of 
whitening.     The  mixture  should  be  applied  with  a  flannel,  left 

14—2 


212  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  II. 

on  for  some  hours,  then  washed  off  with  water.  Sapolio  also 
may  be  used ;  it  is  very  injurious  to  marble  washstands  to  let 
them  lie  wet  constantly;  they  should  be  dried  after  use. 

Wash  toilet  ware  with  soda  and  hot  water,  using  a  house 
flannel  or  a  little  mop  made  of  tow  or  rag  on  a 
stick-  Water  bottles  should  be  allowed  to  stand 
with  tea  leaves  and  vinegar  or  salt  and  vinegar 
in  them  and  then  be  well  shaken  until  clean  and  rinsed 
until  clear.  Glasses  may  be  washed  in  cold  water  and  polished 
with  a  soft  linen  cloth.  If  greasy,  wash  first  in  warm  soda  and 
water. 

When  the  bedroom  is  thoroughly  dry,  the  various  articles 
of  furniture  may  be  replaced  in  order,  any  fireirons  or  other 
steel  goods  not  in  use  may  be  thoroughly  greased  or  rubbed 
over  with  paraffin  and  wrapped  up  in  brown  paper.  For 
turning  out  a  sitting  room  proceed  in  the  same  manner  as  for  a 
bedroom,  taking  care  to  brush  all  sofas  and  chairs  tvell, 
standing  them  on  a  sheet  meanwhile,  if  the  carpet  cannot  be 
taken  up. 

§  80.  In  making  out  a  time-table  of  a  servant's  duties,  time 
must  always  be  allowed  for  cleaning  the  silver. 
A  careml  house-parlourmaid  will  wash  the  forks 
and  spoons  thoroughly  every  day  and  a  little 
ammonia  in  the  water  will  help  to  keep  them  bright  and 
untarnished.  A  basket  lined  with  green  baize  should  be 
provided  and  a  good  chamois  leather  so  that  each  article  may 
be  polished  before  being  placed  on  the  table.  Salt-cellars 
should  be  emptied  every  day  and  the  inside  as  well  as  the 
outside  be  carefully  wiped  over.  The  plate-basket  should  be 
locked  up  in  a  safe  place  at  night  and  the  articles  counted  over 
at  least  once  a  month.  For  the  special  cleaning,  which  should 
take  place  once  a  week,  two  brushes,  some  soft  rag  or  pieces  of 
flannel,  a  chamois  leather  and  some  plate  powder  are  required. 
Plate  powder  should  be  bought  with  caution  as  some  kinds 
contain  quicksilver,  which  in  time  has  an  injurious  effect.  The 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  213 

best  are  made  of  precipitated  whiting  and  jeweller's  rouge,  and 
this  may  be  made  at  home.  To  precipitate  whiting  scrape  a 
quantity  into  a  piece  of  fine  muslin,  place  it  over  a  jug  of 
water,  letting  the  part  of  the  muslin  containing  the  whiting  be 
in  the  water.  After  standing  like  this  for  some  time  it  will  be 
found  that  the  whiting  has  passed  through  the  muslin  to  the 
bottom  of  the  jug,  while  the  grit  remains  behind.  The  water 
is  then  poured  off  and  the  whiting  is  ready  for  use.  Plate 
powder  may  be  moistened  with  a  little  spirit  and  rubbed  on 
thinly ;  when  dry  it  is  brushed  off  and  the  silver  polished  with 
a  leather. 

Knives  when  dirty  should  be  placed  in  a  jug  of  warm  water 
so  as  not  to  allow  the  handles  to  get  wet.     After 

.  .  .  Knives. 

wiping  them,  stains  may  be  removed  by  rubbing 
the  blade  with  potato  parings  or  with  monkey  brand  soap. 
They  should  be  wiped  and  rubbed  on  a  board  with  brick-dust. 
The  brick-dust  should  be  scraped  on  to  the  board  and  the 
knife  rubbed  horizontally  with  the  shoulder  of  the  knife  against 
the  edge  of  the  board.  For  the  point  rub  up  and  down.  The 
knives  are  then  dusted  with  a  cloth  and  put  all  one  way  in  a 
knife-box.  Instead  of  a  board  a  cork  may  be  used,  wetting 
one  end  and  dipping  it  in  bath-brick  and  rubbing  the  knife  up 
and  down.  A  piece  of  board  may  be  covered  with  a  bit  of 
soft  carpet  and  used  for  rubbing  the  knives,  this  will  give  them 
a  high  polish.  Knife  machines  are  sold  for  about  30^.,  the  price 
varies  with  the  number  of  knives  they  can  take ;  they  save  time 
and  labour,  but  wear  out  the  knives  very  quickly.  Knife 
handles  may  be  cleaned  with  lemon  and  salt  or  with  monkey 
brand  soap. 

Zinc  or  galvanised  iron  baths  and  pails  should  be  washed 
with  hot  water,  soap  and  soda.     If  furred  inside 
scrape  with  a  knife  and  rub  hard  with  a  piece  of    uten"iis 
cloth  dipped  in  paraffin.  Let  the  paraffin  dry  on, 
then  polish  with  dry  powdered  bath-brick. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  get  boots  well  cleaned,  and  should 


214  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

a  boy  be  employed  for  this  purpose,  he  will  probably  need 

cleaning  of       teaching  before  satisfactory  results  can  be  ob- 

Boots  and  tained.     In  the  first  place  he  must  be  taught  to 

Shoes.  ... 

discriminate  between  patent  leather  and  ordinary 
boots,  and  to  keep  a  bottle  of  prepared  polish  for  brown  boots 
with  separate  rags  for  applying  the  same.  The  dirt  should  be 
brushed  off  first  and  the  heel  may  be  scraped  with  a  piece  of 
wood  or  an  old  knife.  The  blacking  should  be  mixed  to  a 
creamy  consistency  with  vinegar  and  applied  lightly  with  a 
sponge.  Some  people  think  the  vinegar  hurts  the  leather,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  get  a  good  polish  without.  Blacking  can  be 
bought  ready  mixed  for  use.  When  the  mixture  has  been 
rubbed  over  the  boot  thinly,  the  shining  brush  must  be  applied 
immediately,  this  brush  should  always  be  kept  quite  dry. 
Patent  leather  should  be  treated  with  cream  or  vaseline ;  a 
mutton  bone  rubbed  on  ordinary  leather  will  soften  it.  Glace 
kid  should  be  sponged,  allowed  to  dry  and  then  thoroughly 
polished  with  a  soft  rag  or  handkerchief,  which  is  slightly  oiled 
occasionally.  Boots  and  shoes  will  wear  twice  as  long  if  they 
are  placed  on  trees  directly  they  are  removed. 

So  many  and  varied  are  the  requirements  of  a  house,  that 
it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  make  anything  like  a  complete 
collection  of  what  is  wanted  by  each  individual  housekeeper. 
Many  will  have  inherited  special  recipes  for  polishes  and  plate 
powders  etc.,  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  foregoing  suggestions 
will  enable  a  young  housekeeper  to  understand  some  of  the 
many  duties  that  fall  to  her  lot. 


3.    LAUNDRY  WORK. 

§  81.  Before  entering  upon  the  details  of  Laundry  Work 
it  is  necessary  here  to  consider  it  from  two  different  stand- 
points ;  first  that  of  the  mistress  of  a  house,  secondly  that  of 
a  teacher  or  manageress  of  a  laundry.  For  anyone  desiring 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  215 

to  take  the  latter  post,  a  thorough  course  of  laundry  work 
in  some  good  technical  school,  with  the  addition  later  of  a 
short  time  spent  in  a  steam  laundry  to  learn  packing  and 
sorting  on  a  large  scale,  is  strongly  to  be  recommended.  The 
mistress  of  a  house  will  probably  find  this  question  of  cleanli- 
ness one  of  the  most  difficult  she  has  to  solve,  after  the 
much  debated  one  of  domestic  service.  Cleanliness  in  respect 
to  apparel  and  bed-clothes  is  very  important  and  is  too  often 
neglected;  this  is  probably  due  to  want  of  thought  and 
method,  but  now  that  personal  hygiene  is  being  taught  in 
nearly  all  schools  from  the  Fifth  Standard  upwards,  any  dis- 
regard of  these  matters  should  be  looked  upon  as  false 
economy.  The  health  of  the  home  depends  in  great  measure 
on  the  attention  paid  to  cleanliness  and  on  the  manner  in 
which  this  is  carried  out.  Formerly  washing  was  chiefly  done 
at  home,  and  "washing-day"  was  frequently  a  source  of 
domestic  disorganization.  In  the  present  day,  although  still 
carried  on  in  many  homes  on  the  ground  of  economy,  the 
establishment  of  public  laundries  with  their  labour-saving  ap- 
pliances has  proved  a  boon  to  many,  the  vans  fetching  the 
soiled  linen  at  the  beginning  of  the  week  and  returning  it 
clean  at  the  end  of  the  week.  Many  who  have  travelled 
abroad,  especially  in  parts  of  Austria,  will  regret  "washing 
at  home "  when  they  see  the  way  it  is  carried  out  there,  but 
unfortunately  in  most  places  in  England  there  is  no  space 
for  the  erection  of  the  outside  laundries  which  belong  to 
each  house  or  group  of  houses,  nor  is  there  the  supply  of 
water  which  is  such  a  feature  in  foreign  towns  and  villages. 
The  question  of  public  washhouses  has  been  keenly  de- 
bated and  should  be  a  help  to  many  living  in  cottages  with 
little  or  no  accommodation  for  either  washing  or  drying,  but 
the  reason  they  have  been  less  successful  than  might  be 
expected,  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  most  people  like 
to  wash  their  soiled  linen  in  private.  The  first  requisites  of 
a  good  laundry  are  a  plentiful  supply  of  water,  a  healthy 


216  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

open  situation  and  careful  supervision  against  infection.  The 
question  of  machinery  should  also  be  carefully  considered, 
many  people  preferring  the  old-fashioned  hand  laundries  on  the 
plea  that  machinery  weakens  the  material  and  tears  the  articles. 
Such  great  improvements  have  been  made  in  this  respect 
during  the  last  few  years  that  under  a  good  manageress  this 
danger  may  be  disregarded. 

All  clothes,  whether  washed  at  home  or  sent  to  the  public 
laundry,  should  be  plainly  marked.  When  sent  away  from 
the  house,  the  articles  should  be  carefully  marked,  counted, 
and  a  list  made  for  the  laundress  on  Monday  morning ;  when 
the  clothes  are  returned  at  the  end  of  the  week  they  should 
be  recounted  and  aired  before  being  put  away.  It  is  also 
advisable  at  the  same  time  to  look  through  articles  that  may 
require  mending  and  a  certain  order  should  be  observed  in 
the  putting  away,  that  the  same  things  may  not  be  constantly 
in  use. 

As  we  are  not  concerned  here  with  the  establishment 
of  laundries  on  a  large  scale,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  point 
out  what  materials  and  utensils  are  required  and  how  they 
should  be  applied  and  kept  in  good  repair  both  at  home  and 
when  furnishing  a  Laundry  Centre  for  the  use  of  Elementary 
Schools. 

The   first   requisite   mentioned  above,   namely  water,   has 

been   exhaustively  treated   in   Chapter   IV. ;   it 

is  essential  for  laundry  purposes  that  this  should 

be  plentiful  and  as  soft  as  possible.     Clothes  are  frequently 

ruined  by  the  use  of  soda  and   other   matters   employed   to 

soften  the  water. 

The  next  requisite  for  washing  is  soap,  a  substance  pro- 
duced by  the  action  of  an  alkali  on  an  oil. 
Vegetable  as  well  as  animal  fats  are  employed 
in  the  manufacture.  The  alkali  displaces  glycerine  from  the 
oil  and  forms  an  alkaline  stearate  which  is  soap.  The  alkalies 
used  are  caustic  alkalies,  that  is,  alkalies  in  their  pure  state 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  217 

Soft  soap  is  made  of  potash  and  coarser  kinds  of  fats  and  oils, 
while  the  best  hard  soaps  are  made  from  animal  fat  and 
caustic  soda ;  the  former  is  not  used  for  washing  the  skin  as 
it  is  too  irritating,  but  it  is  best  for  coarse  greasy  clothes. 
The  melted  fat,  soda  and  resin  (the  latter  added  to  give  bulk) 
are  boiled  together  for  some  hours,  then,  on  the  addition  of 
salt,  the  soap  will  rise  to  the  surface,  leaving  glycerine  behind. 
This  process  is  repeated  several  times  and  towards  the  end 
water  and  special  ingredients  are  added.  A  good  soap  should 
not  contain  too  much  alkali  or  it  will  injure  the  fabric  of  the 
clothes  and  also  cause  irritation  to  the  skin.  Too  much  fat 
will  cause  the  soap  to  become  rancid  and  too  much  water  will 
cause  great  waste.  Marine  soap  is  made  with  cocoa-nut  oil, 
because,  unlike  other  kinds  of  fats,  it  is  not  rendered  insoluble 
by  brine  and  will  form  a  lather  with  sea  water.  The  use  of 
hard  water  wastes  large  quantities  of  soap,  as  a  lather  is  not 
produced  until  the  lime  salts  have  been  neutralized  by  the 
quantity  of  soap  used. 

There  are  three  alkalies  used  in  washing.     Soda,  potash 
and  ammonia,  sometimes  known  respectively  as 

Alkilies 

the    mineral,    vegetable    and    volatile    alkalies. 
Their  chief  properties  are  to  act   as    detergents  or  cleansers 
and  to  neutralize  fatty  acids.     Used  alone  they  destroy  fabrics 
and  turn  white  clothes  yellow. 

Soda   is    manufactured  now  from   common  salt    (chloride 
of  sodium) ;  it  was  formerly  obtained  from   the 
ashes  of  seaweed.    It  should  always  be  dissolved 
in  hot  water  before  being  brought  in  contact  with  the  clothes 
or  iron-mould  stains  may  be  caused. 

Potash  is  obtained  from  the  ashes  of  plants  and  vegetables 
and  is   known  to   the   housekeeper   under   the 

Potash. 

name  of  pearlash. 

Ammonia   is    chiefly    obtained    during   the    distillation    of 

coal  in  the  manufacture  of  coal  gas  ;  it  is  colour- 
Ammonia, 
less,  very  volatile  and  has  a  pungent  odour.     It 


218  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

is  used  for  washing  Jaegar  and  natural  wool  garments,  the 
proportions  will  be  given  in  the  part  treating  of  washing 
of  woollen  garments. 

Borax,  a  saline  substance  found  in  its  crude  state  in  many 
of  the  salt  lakes  of  North  and  South  America 

Borax. 

and  Asia,  has  a  powerful  effect  in  softening 
water,  but  is  too  expensive  to  be  used  in  large  quantities.  It 
loosens  dirt  and  dissolves  fats  and  starches  very  readily  without 
injuring  the  fabric  as  soda  does,  and  it  is  used  in  removing 
simple  stains  and  in  the  preparation  of  both  cold  and  hot 
starch.  Borax  is  also  produced  by  artificial  means. 

Blues  are  divided  into  three  kinds,  Indigo,  Prussian  blue 

and  Ultramarine ;   they  are  sold  in   two  forms, 

liquid  and  solid,  the  latter  is  the  one  in  general 

use.     The   cake  or   ball  of  blue  should   be  tied  in  a  flannel 

and  then  dissolved  in  the  water  by  crushing  it  with  the  fingers ; 

when  sufficiently  coloured  the  water  should  be  sky-blue  when 

held  in  the  palm  of  the  hand.     It  is  used  to  give  the  clothes 

a   good   colour,    and   to  prevent   a  streaky   appearance ;   the 

garment  should  have  been  thoroughly  rinsed  and  be  free  from 

any  remains  of  soap. 

Starch  is  used  (i)  for  stiffening  clothes,  (2)  to  give  them 

a   good   appearance,    (3)    to   keep    them   clean 

longer.     In  its  raw  state  it  is  a  white  glistening 

powder  found  in  all  cereals,  but  the  best  for  laundry  purposes 

is   obtained    from    rice,    the    grains   are   finer  and   penetrate 

the  linen  more  easily.     Starch  for  stiffening  clothes  is  made 

in  two  ways,  hot  starch  for  prints  and   muslins,  cold  starch 

for  collars,  cuffs  and  shirt  fronts. 

Recipe  for  hot  starch,     i  table-spoonful  white  starch,  suf- 
Ho  ficient  cold  water  to  mix   to  a   cream,    |    tea- 

spoonful  of  borax  dissolved  in  hot  water,  a 
piece  of  wax  or  candle  about  the  size  of  a  sixpence.  Boiling 
water  is  then  poured  on  these  ingredients  until  the  starch 
thickens  and  becomes  a  semi-transparent  jelly.  If  it  is  too 


CHAP.  X.]  Plousewifery.  219 

thick,  for  example  for  table  linen,  it  may  be  diluted  with  cold 
water  directly  it  is  made.  The  borax  is  added  to  give  a  gloss 
and  to  whiten  and  stiffen  the  linen;  the  wax  or  candle  will 
keep  the  iron  from  sticking.  All  articles  stiffened  in  hot 
starch  should  be  dried  before  they  are  sprinkled  and  ironed. 

Recipe  for    cold    starch.       i    table-spoonful    white    starch, 
i  breakfast-cupful  of  cold  water,  £  tea-spoonful 

Cold  starch. 

of  borax  dissolved  in  hot  water,  \  tea-spoonful 
of  turpentine.  The  latter  takes  the  place  of  wax  or  candle 
used  in  making  hot  starch,  and  for  the  same  reason.  These 
ingredients  when  thoroughly  mixed  should  be  strained  through 
a  piece  of  muslin.  Cold  starch  is  used  for  articles  requiring 
to  be  made  very  stiff.  They  should  be  thoroughly  dry  before 
being  starched  or  they  will  not  be  of  the  required  stiffness. 
Collars  and  cuffs  should  be  placed  in  the  starch  and  then 
rubbed  together  with  the  hands ;  this  ensures  the  starch  getting 
into  the  linen.  Each  article  should  be  squeezed  dry  and  placed 
separately  on  a  clean  cloth ;  the  cloth  should  then  be  rolled  up 
very  tightly  and  left  to  stand  for  about  an  hour. 

Washing    powders    are    best    avoided    in   a    laundry    as 
they  may  contain    chemicals   which   injure  the 
clothes.     As  a  rule  they  are  composed  of  soda, 
borax,  with  the  addition  of  lime,  and  if  used  at 
all,  should  be  dissolved  before  they  are  brought  in  contact 
with  the  clothes. 

This  dissolved  soap  is  prepared  by  shredding  up  soap  into 
small  pieces  and  dissolving  it  either  by  pouring 

...     J  .  .    5          Soap  Jelly. 

boiling  water  over  it  (J  Ib.  soap  to  i  gallon 
of  water)  or  by  placing  the  soap  in  a  saucepan  of  cold  water 
and  allowing  it  to  melt  on  the  fire.  This  jelly  is  added  to 
the  water  in  which  flannels  or  woollens  of  any  kind  and  prints 
are  washed.  Enough  should  be  used  to  raise  a  lather  by 
moving  the  hand  about  in  the  water. 

Paraffin    washing,   as  it  is  called,   saves  time  and  labour, 
but  cannot   be  carried    out  in  ordinary  households.      Half  a 


22O  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

pound  of  soap  should  be  dissolved  in  a  boiler  three  parts  full 
of  water,  and  when  it  is  boiling  2  table-spoonfuls 
of  paraffin  oil  are  added.  The  clothes  are  then 
put  in  dry  and  allowed  to  boil  quickly  for  half-an-hour,  any 
scum  being  carefully  removed.  The  clothes  should  then  be 
thoroughly  rinsed  in  several  warm  soapy  waters  and  finished 
with  the  ordinary  rinsing  and  blueing,  and  dried  in  the  open  air. 
The  disadvantages  of  this  method  are  the  frequent  rinsings, 
the  danger  of  the  oil  catching  fire  and  the  difficulty  of  getting 
rid  of  the  smell  in  large  thick  articles. 

Salts   of  lemon   and   oxalic   acid  are  sometimes  used   to 

remove   stains,  but  should   always   be   labelled 

Poison  and  kept  in  a  safe  place.    They  are  likely 

to  injure  the  fabric,  and  after   their  application  the  material 

should  always  be  well  washed  to  prevent  it  from  rotting.     Stains 

if  dealt  with  before  they  are  dry  can  be  removed  without  the 

aid  of  chemicals  ;  they  will  be  dealt  with  in  detail  in  the  part 

relating  to  practical  washing. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  touch  on  machinery  worked  by 
steam,  etc.,  but  many  excellent  washing  machines 

Machinery. 

may  be  obtained  that  can  be  used  by  hand  and 
which  will  greatly  save  time  and  labour. 

A  good  hand- washing  machine  costs  about  £10,  and 
will  wash  any  kind  of  clothes.  In  using  the  one  shown  in 
the  diagram,  the  clothes  should  be  sorted  and  the  white 
garments  put  in  first  and  warm  water  poured  in  by  means 
of  the  tap.  When  this  has  been  let  out,  hot  water  is  added 
and  dissolved  soap ;  enough  of  the  latter  is  put  in  to  make  a 
good  lather.  The  machine  is  then  turned  continually  for  about 
20  minutes,  and  if  the  clothes  are  very  dirty,  fresh  water  and 
soap  are.  added,  if  not  they  are  rinsed  until  the  water  comes 
out  quite  clean.  Where  steam  is  used,  this  is  turned  on  to 
boil  them.  The  clothes  are  then  blued  ;  liquid  blue  should 
be  used,  not  too  strong,  they  are  turned  about  in  this  for 
about  10  minutes.  If  the  clothes  are  to  be  starched,  it  is 


CHAP.  X.] 


Housew  ifery. 


221 


put  in  by  the  bucketful  (4  Ibs.  starch  and  2  candles  will 
make  4  bucketsful).  The  clothes  are  then  taken  out  and  put 
through  a  wringer. 


C    D 


DIAGRAM  OF  WASHING  MACHINE. 


A.    Clothes  put  in  here. 

C.  D.    Hot  and  cold  taps. 


B.    Waste  pipe. 
E.    Closing  lid. 


In  a  small  laundry,  dolly  tubs  are  used,  price  about 
£i.  is.  od.  :  they  are  not  suitable  for  very  fine  clothes ; 
washing  boards  cost  about  i2s.  Then  there  are  starching 
machines  in  shape  like  a  box  or  tub.  The  collars  and  cuffs 
are  put  in  and  the  machine  turned  round  for  15  minutes, 
this  beats  the  starch  well  into  them.  Ironing  machines  turned 
by  hand  for  body  or  table  linen  can  also  be  obtained  and 
goffering  machines  heated  by  gas. 


222  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Besides  the  machines  mentioned  above  there  are  various 

utensils  required  in  the  laundry.     If  not  fitted 

choice  of  with  troughs,  it  should  be  furnished  with  wooden 

tubs  for  washing ;   when  these  are  not   in  use 

they  should  be  kept  in  a   cool   dry  place   filled   with   clean 

water  to  prevent  the  wood  from  shrinking  and  the  tub  from 

leaking.     The  rollers  of  the  mangle  or  wringer  should  always 

be  wiped  dry  after  use,  the  bearings  loosened  and  oiled  from 

time  to  time,  the  whole  kept  covered  up  and  free  from  dust 

when  not  in  use. 

The  irons  in  general  use  are  known  as  flat  irons,  they 
require  cleaning  on  finely  powdered  bath-brick  when  they 
are  taken  off  the  stove  or  fire.  They  are  sold  in  all  sizes, 
but  the  best  medium  size  is  no.  5.  Box  irons  have  the 
advantage  of  being  always  clean,  but  they  are  heavy  and 
cumbersome,  at  least  two  heaters  should  be  allowed  to  each 
iron.  Gas  irons  have  much  to  recommend  them,  but  they 
must  be  connected  to  the  pipe  by  a  piece  of  tubing  and  can 
only  travel  a  certain  distance,  also  special  arrangements  have 
to  be  made  for  ventilation.  Charcoal  is  used  for  heating 
irons,  chiefly  in  France,  it  saves  much  time  and  labour,  but 
the  fumes  are  unhealthy.  Goffering  irons  somewhat  resemble 
a  pair  of  scissors  and  vary  in  size  according  to  the  "  flute " 
required.  When  not  in  use,  irons  must  be  well  greased, 
mutton  fat  is  the  best,  and  wrapped  up  in  brown  paper.  The 
ironing  stove  in  the  shape  of  a  pagoda  is  the  most  useful 
kind,  and  it  is  made  to  hold  any  number  of  flat  irons  and 
has  a  special  arrangement  on  the  top  to  hold  goffering  and 
polishing  irons.  These  stoves  are  lighted  in  the  usual  way 
and  the  fire  is  kept  up  by  adding  coke.  Iron  stands  are  best 
made  in  tin  or  earthenware,  and  an  iron  holder  should  be 
oval  in  shape  and  of  several  thicknesses,  an  old  stocking 
folded  several  times,  covered  by  an  old  glove  and  sewn  into 
a  print  cover,  makes  the  most  economical  and  substantial 
holder.  Felting  or  baize  should  be  bought  for  covering  the 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  223 

ironing  table  and  should  be  exactly  the  right  size  with  no 
join ;  old  blankets  and  shawls  may  also  be  used.  The  sheets 
can  be  made  of  calico  and  should  be  furnished  with  tapes 
to  tie  them  securely  over  the  felt  to  the  legs  of  the  ironing 
table.  Steam  may  be  prevented  from  filling  the  laundry  by 
fixing  a  copper  hood  to  the  boiler,  the  steam  is  carried  off 
by  these  means  into  the  flue,  and  when  the  lid  is  on  none 
can  escape  into  the  room.  If  the  floor  is  tiled  and  likely 
to  get  wet,  boards  raised  about  2  to  4  inches  from  the  ground 
should  be  provided  to  stand  upon. 

Having  briefly  touched  on  some  of  the  principal  materials 
and  utensils  required  in  Laundry  Work,  it  is 
necessary  to  say  something  of  the  order  in 
which  the  work  should  be  taken.  Upon  the 
day  before  the  actual  day  set  apart  for  washing,  the  clothes 
should  be  sorted  ready  for  steeping  in  cold  water. 

1.  Fine  things  such  as  muslins,  laces,  collars  and  cuffs. 

2.  Table  linen. 

3.  Bed  and  body  linen. 

4.  Coarse  things. 

5.  Prints  and  flannels.     These  are  never  soaked. 

Each  of  these  sets  is  put  in  a  separate  tub  and  a  little 
dissolved  soda  or  borax  may  be  added  to  the  cold  water ; 
very  dirty  parts  may  be  soaped.  On  the  actual  washing  day 
the  flannels  and  woollen  garments  should  be  taken  first,  and 
as  they  are  often  spoilt  in  the  process  of  cleaning,  it  is  well 
to  go  into  detail. 

For  ordinary  woollens  two  tubs  should  be  filled  with  luke- 
warm water  (2  parts  cold  to  i  part  boiling).  Soap  jelly 
should  be  added  until  a  good  lather  is  formed. 

The  flannels  should  be  well  shaken,  then  kneaded  and 
squeezed  in  the  lukewarm  soapy  lather  first  on  the  right  side 
and  then  on  the  wrong.  When  clean,  white  flannels  may  be 
rinsed  in  clean  warm  water  to  which  a  little  ammonia  has 


224  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

been  added.  For  coloured  flannels,  salt  may  be  added  to 
the  water  to  prevent  the  colour  from  running.  They  may 
then  be  squeezed  or  put  carefully  through  the  wringer  and 
well  shaken  to  raise  the  "  nap "  and  dried  fairly  quickly 
before  the  fire  or  in  the  open  air;  on  no  account  must  the 
fire  be  too  fierce  or  the  sun  too  hot.  Knitted  or  crochet 
garments  should  be  pinned  out  while  still  wet.  Flannels  may 
be  ironed  with  a  cool  iron.  To  prevent  shrinking,  before 
garments  are  made  up,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  soak  new  flannel 
in  cold  water  for  12  hours  and  then  wash  as  above.  Flannel 
with  little  holes  at  intervals  along  the  selvedge  has  been  well 
stretched  in  the  manufacture  and  will  shrink  a  great  deal  the 
first  time  it  is  washed.  Blankets  should  be  washed  on  a  day 
when  they  can  dry  out  of  doors.  They  should  be  washed 
in  two  lathers  of  warm  soapy  water  to  which  a  table-spoonful 
of  dissolved  borax  has  been  added,  then  rinsed  in  a  large  tub 
of  warm  water  slightly  blued.  The  blankets  should  be  w-ung 
as  dry  as  possible,  then  well  shaken  to  raise  the  nap.  The 
surface  will  be  much  improved  by  being  shaken  twice  or  more 
during  the  process  of  drying. 

The  things  which  have  been  put  to  soak  should  be  rubbed 
and  wrung  out  of  the  steeping  water  and  then 
taken  in  order,  that  is  to  say,  the  cleanest  and 
finest  articles  should  be  taken  first,  and  the 
water  should  be  as  hot  as  the  hand  will  bear.  Muslins  and 
laces  require  special  treatment,  and  coloured  prints  should 
be  washed  in  the  same  way  as  flannels  and  stiffened  with 
hot  starch.  After  washing,  white  clothes  should  be  boiled 
from  15  to  20  minutes  to  keep  them  a  good  colour,  the  water 
should  be  soft  and  soapy  and  it  is  generally  necessary  to  put 
the  articles  in  a  bag  to  prevent  the  scum  from  settling  on 
them.  After  thorough  rinsing,  all  clothes  not  required  very 
stiff  may  be  starched  in  hot  water  starch,  thick  or  thin  as 
required,  and  put  to  dry  in  the  open  air  if  possible;  this 
not  only  improves  the  colour  of  the  clothing,  but  also  makes 


CHAP,  x.]  Housewifery.  225 

them  fresh  and  clean.  Failing  an  out-of-doors  drying  ground, 
a  clothes-horse  near  the  fire  may  be  used,  or  a  bar  of  wood 
fastened  by  means  of  ropes  and  pulleys  to  the  ceiling.  The 
latter  is  an  excellent  method  either  for  drying  or  airing,  and 
can  be  easily  fixed  if  the  room  be  lofty  enough.  Clothes 
require  to  be  carefully  folded  before  being  damped  and 
mangled ;  it  is  owing  to  want  of  attention  to  this  part  of  the 
cleaning  process  that  so  many  garments  are  pulled  out  of 
shape  and  buttons  broken  off.  The  clothes  should  be  folded 
in  long  strips  with  the  buttons  and  tapes  laid  flat  within  the 
folds  of  the  garments,  and  the  folds  should  be  of  equal  thick- 
ness so  that  the  pressure  of  the  mangle  may  be  equal  in  every 
part. 

When  collars  and  cuffs  or  shirt  fronts  have  been  ironed, 
a  hot  polishing  iron  may  be  used  to  gloss  them. 
The  collar  or  front  should  be  placed  on  a  hard     Lin°e"shing 
board  and  the  starched  surface  rubbed  with  a 
lightly   damped   piece   of   clean   flannel   or    linen.     The   hot 
polishing  iron  is  then  rubbed  quickly  backwards  and  forwards 
until  a  gloss  is  produced. 

Silk  should  be  washed  in  warm  soap  lather  as  quickly  as 
possible,    and   if   white,    rinsed   in    clean    cold 
water,  or  in  vinegar  and   water  if  the   silk   be 
coloured.     It  should  be  ironed  while  still  wet  by  placing  a 
piece  of  cambric  over  it   and  using   a  moderately  hot   iron. 
Silks  are  sometimes  dipped  in  gum  water  before  ironing,  this 
gives  a  slight  stiffness  and  gloss.     The  proportions  are  i  oz. 
of  gum  arabic  to   i   pint  of  boiling  water,   strained  through 
muslin  and  used  as  follows :   i  dessert  spoonful  to  a  cup  of 
water. 

Lace  may  be  treated  in  various  ways.     If  very  fine  a  glass 
bottle  should  be  covered  with  folds  of  flannel 
and   the   lace   sewn   on   round.    The   bottle  is 
dipped  into  a  warm  soapy  lather   and  pressed   until   clean ; 
it   should  be  rinsed  in  clean  water.     Fine  laces  should   not 
B.  15 


226  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

be  ironed,  but  pinned  out  on  a  board  covered  with  flannel  or 
pulled  into  shape,  placed  between  folds  of  blotting-paper  and 
pressed.  Another  way  is  to  fill  a  bottle  with  warm  soap 
lather  and  shake  the  lace  up  and  down  in  it  until  clean. 
It  may  be  stiffened  by  dissolving  2  oz.  of  lump  sugar  in 
i  pint  of  boiling  water  or  by  using  gum  water  in  the  same  way 
as  for  silk.  Coarse  laces  may  be  starched  in  ordinary  hot  water 
starch  and  ironed. 

Art  work  and  cretonnes  should  be  washed  in  bran  water, 
this  not  only  cleanses  them  but  gives  them  a 

Bran  washing.  .          ' 

slight  stiffness. 

To  make  bran  water,  boil  2  handfuls  or  i  quart  of 
bran  in  4  quarts  of  water  for  an  hour.  The  mixture  is 
then  strained  through  a  piece  of  muslin  and  enough  cold 
water  added  to  make  the  whole  mixture  lukewarm.  Soap 
jelly  may  then  be  added  and  the  material  kneaded  and 
squeezed  in  the  water,  each  piece  being  washed  separately 
and  finished  off  as  soon  as  possible;  the  colours  will  run  if 
they  are  allowed  to  soak.  To  set  the  colours  the  work  may 
be  rinsed  in  a  strong  solution  of  salt  and  water.  Cretonne 
curtains  and  covers  may  require  to  be  starched  in  thin  boiling 
water  starch  and  they  should  be  ironed  when  partly  dry 
with  a  cool  iron  on  the  wrong  side.  If  they  are  ironed  on 
the  right  side  a  piece  of  cambric  or  muslin  should  be  placed 
between  them  and  the  iron. 

Stains  in  most   cases  are  easily  removed   if  attended   to 

while  still  fresh,  if  allowed  to  dry,  chemicals  must 

be  used  and  the  fabric  is  likely  to  be  injured. 

It  is  necessary  before  removing  stains   to  consider  first  their 

nature,  and  secondly  the  material  from  which  the  stain  has 

to  be  removed. 

Table  linen  is  the  most  subject  to  stain,  either  fruit,  wine, 
or  tea  and  coffee  stains. 

To  remove  the  former,  stretch  the  stained  portion  of  the 
material  over  a  basin,  rub  with  common  salt  and  pour  on 


CHAP.  X.]  Housewifery.  227 

boiling  water,  and  repeat  the  process  until  the  stain  disappears. 
If  the  stain  is  dry,  salts  of  lemon  must  be  used  in  the  same 
way,  but  unless  the  material  is  washed  and  rinsed  immediately 
afterwards,  it  will  rot.  Tea  and  coffee  stains  should  be  re- 
moved at  once  by  soaking  in  cold  water,  borax  and  boiling 
water  may  then  be  used  and  the  cloth  dried  in  the  open  air ; 
no  soap  should  be  used,  as  this  fixes  the  stain. 

Ink  stains  if  wet  may  be  removed  by  being  rubbed  with 
powdered  starch  and  afterwards  moistened  in  milk  or  by 
being  soaked  in  boiled  milk.  Dry  ink  stains  can  only  be 
removed  by  having  recourse  to  salts  of  lemon  or  oxalic  acid. 
Lemon  juice  may  be  used,  and  turpentine  often  proves  useful 
in  removing  ink  stains  from  white  muslin. 

Grease  stains  on  cloth  material  should  be  removed  with 
powdered  French  chalk.  The  chalk  is  rubbed  on  the  stain 
which  is  held  over  a  hot  iron ;  as  the  heat  meets  the  grease, 
it  is  absorbed  by  the  chalk  which  can  be  rubbed  off  with  a 
dry  rag.  Benzine  is  also  very  useful  but  should  not  be  used 
near  a  fire  as  it  is  very  inflammable. 

Paint  stains  may  be  removed  by  the  application  of  spirit 
of  turpentine  or  spirits  of  wine.     Mildew  is  very  difficult  to 
get  rid  of,  but  repeated  applications  of  chalk  and  salt,  and 
moistening   with   water  followed   by  drying   in    the   sun   will 
sometimes  remove  it. 

The  clothing  of  a  person  suffering  from  any  infectious 
disease  should  be  completely  separated  and 

J  Disinfecting. 

never  washed  with  the  ordinary  clothes  of  the 
household.     Heat   is  one  of  the  most  reliable   processes   of 
disinfection  and  may  be  applied  either  in  a  dry  form  such  as 
baking,  or  by  wet  heat  as  in  steaming  or  boiling. 

For  baking  clothes  a  special  apparatus  is  required  and 
the  local  sanitary  authorities  will  carry  out  the  necessary 
process.  Clothes  may  be  disinfected  by  boiling  them  for 
half-an-hour.  It  is  difficult  to  use  any  strong  disinfectant 
such  as  chloride  of  lime  or  carbolic  wacid  without  staining  the 

15—2 


228  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

clothes,  and  it  is  always  necessary  to  distinguish  between 
disinfectants  proper,  which  should  destroy  micro-organisms, 
and  deodorizers,  which  simply  get  rid  of  bad  smells.  In  cases 
of  small-pox,  scarlet-fever,  diphtheria,  etc.  the  proper  autho- 
rities should  at  once  be  communicated  with,  as  clothing, 
unless  properly  treated,  forms  one  of  the  chief  means  of 
spreading  infection.  It  is  now  compulsory  for  the  head  of 
the  household  to  notify  the  medical  officer  of  health  as  soon 
as  a  case  of  infectious  disease  has  occurred  under  his  roof; 
neglect  of  this  renders  him  liable  to  a  penalty  of  ^10. 


CHAP.  XL]  229 


CHAPTER   XI. 
Foods. 

I.     Animal  Food  : — meat. 

§  82.  THE  term  Food  may  be  strictly  defined,  as  the 
material  taken  to  repair  the  substance  of  the  body. 

The  Proximate  Principles  of  which  Food  is  composed  may 
be  classified  as 

Nitrogenous  Foods,  example,  Proteids  ; 
Non-Nitrogenous  Foods,  such  as  Fats,  Starches,  Sugar ; 
Mineral  Salts  and  water. 

All  Proteids  contain  Nitrogen  as  well  as  Carbon,  Oxygen 
and  Hydrogen,  and  this  Class  of  Food  may  be  found  in  the 
Vegetable  as  well  as  in  the  Animal  Kingdom. 

The  most  important  Animal  Foods  are  Meat,  Fish,  Game, 
Poultry,  and  the  Proteids  derived  from  them  are  said  to  be 
more  readily  digested  than  those  obtained  from  Vegetables. 

Meat  may  be  divided  into 

(a)     Red  Meat,  such  as  Beef  and  Mutton. 
(/;)      White  Meat,  as  Veal  and  Pork. 

The  latter  are  the  least  digestible,  taking  four  and  five 
hours  respectively,  while  beef  and  mutton  each  take  three 
to  digest;  much  however  depends  on  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  prepared  by  cooking. 


230 


Domestic  Economy. 


[PT.  II. 


Animal  Flesh  consists  of  72°/0  of  Water,  about  2o°/0  of 
Proteids,  and  a  varying  amount  of  Fat1. 

Good  Meat  should  be  bright  red  in  colour,  leave  no  mark 
when  pressed,  be  free  from  smell,  and  marbled  in  appearance 
from  the  fat  between  the  muscle  fibres. 

To  be  tender,  meat  should  hang  for  two  or  three  days ; 
the  time  varies  according  to  the  climate  or  time  of  year. 
Immediately  after  death,  a  stiffening  of  the  muscles  takes 
place,  rigor  mortis.  This  lasts  about  two  days,  after  which  the 
meat  becomes  tender  and  is  better  flavoured.  This  condition 
lasts  a  very  short  time,  putrefaction  setting  in. 

Beef  is  best  obtained  from  an  ox  about  four  years  old  :  the 
flesh  should  be  bright  red,  firm,  free  from  smell,  and  the  fat 
white  and  firm. 

Cow-beef  is  more  closely  grained  and  the  lean  of  a  deeper 
red. 

Bull- beef  is  dark  in  colour  and  has  a  strong  smell. 

Average  beef  contains  about 

Water  Proteids  Fat 

5476  16-93  '  27'33- 

The  manner  of  cutting  up  an  ox  varies  in  different  parts  of 
the  country;  but  the  following  are  the  different  joints  and  the 
average  price : 


Rump,  from  icx/.  to  i/-  a  Ib. 
Buttock  or  round,  from  %d.  a  Ib. 
Aitchbone,  from  "td.  a  Ib. 
Sirloin,  from  lod.  a  Ib. 
Ribs,  from  lod.  a  Ib. 

a.     Fore  Ribs. 

6.     Middle  Ribs. 

<:.     Chuck  Ribs. 
Neck  and  Clod. 
Heart,  from  8d. 


Palate. 

Skin,  from  ^d.  a  Ib. 

Shoulder,  or  Leg  of  Mutton  piece. 

Brisket,  from  ^d.  a  Ib. 

Flank. 

Cheeks,  about  a/-. 

Tail,  from  1/6. 

Tongue,  from  2/6. 

Liver,  &/.  a  Ib. 


1  The  Food-values  are  taken  from  Prof.  Knight's  book,  Food  and  its 
Functions. 


CHAP.  XL] 


Foods. 


231 


DIVISION  OF  THE  Ox. 

i.  Leg  of  Beef — used  for  beef- tea  and  soups.  2.  Buttock  or  Round — 
may  be  divided  into  Top  Side  and  Silver  Side.  3.  Aitch-bone. 
4.  Rump.  5.  Sirloin — cut  into  3  parts,  a  chump  end,  a  middle 

and  a  wing  end.         6.    Fore  Ribs.         7.    Middle  Ribs.         8.    Chuck 
of  Beef.          9.   Clod — used  for  stewing.  10.   Neck  or  Sticking 

piece.  ii.    Shin.  12.    Brisket.  13.    Thin  Flank. 

14.   Thick  Flank.  15.   Tail. 

N.B.  Beef  Kidney  is  used  for  puddings  and  pies — Suet  for  pastry  and 
force-meat— Tongue  for  pickling  and  boiling. 

Tripe  is  the  inner  lining  of  the  stomach  of  the  cow  or  ox : 
there  are  five  kinds  but  the  two  generally  eaten  are  known  as 
the  Double  and  Honeycomb. 

Tripe  is  very  nourishing  and  easy  of  digestion. 

When  bought  at  Tripe  Shops  it  is  usually  dressed  and  only 
requires  re-cooking. 

When  bought  raw  it  must  be  soaked  in  salt  and  water, 
scraped,  blanched  and  boiled ;  it  cosj;s  from  6d.  to  gd.  a  Ib. 


232 


Domestic  Economy. 


[FT.  ii. 


Mutton.  Home-grown  mutton  is  best  from  a  sheep  about 
three  to  four  years  old. 

In  appearance  the  meat  should  be  fine  grained,  the  lean 
bright-coloured  and  firm,  and  the  fat  very  white  and  hard. 

Welsh  and  Scotch  mutton  is  smaller  than  ordinary  mutton, 
but  has  a  fine  flavour :  the  legs  only  weigh  6  Ibs.  or  even  less 
shoulders  from  3  to  5  Ibs. 

It  contains : 

Water  Proteids  Fat 

75'99  18-11  577. 


DIVISION  OF  THE  SHEEP. 

i.    Leg.  2.    Shoulder.  3.    Neck:    a.  Scrag  end;   b.  Best  end. 

4.   Loin  :  a.  Chump  end.  5.   Breast. 

The  following  table  gives  the  chief  joints,  with  the  average 
prices : 

Leg  (2),  gd.  to  nd.  a  Ib.  Head,  from  6d. 

Shoulder  (2),  Sd.  to  gd.  a  Ib.  Tongue. 

Loin,  from  lod.  a  Ib.  Suet,  6d.  a  Ib. 

Saddle,  from  gd.  to  i/-  a  Ib.  Kidneys,  $d.  each. 

Breast,  from  6d.  a  Ib.  Heart,  from  6d. 
Neck 

i.     Best  end,  from  gd.  a  Ib. 


Scrag  end,  from  yd.  a  Ib. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


Foods. 


233 


Welsh  and  Scotch  mutton  vary  in  price,  some  of  the  best 
parts  fetching  is.  2d.  a  Ib. 

Mutton-suet  is  cheaper  than  Beef-suet  and  less  digestible 
on  account  of  the  Stearin  it  contains — it  is  much  whiter  and 
harder  in  appearance. 

Pork.  Fresh  pork  is  obtained  from  a  pig  under  one  year 
old,  and  to  be  delicate  it  must  be  small  and  not  too  fat. 


Composition : 

Water 
47-40 


Proteids 
i4'54 


Fat 
37'34- 


The  fat  should  be  very  white,  the  lean  pink  and  free  from 
spots,  and  the  skin  thin. 

The  pig  is  very  liable  to  disease,  being  an  omnivorous 
feeder,  and  the  flesh  should  be  carefully  chosen  and  thoroughly 
cooked. 

Dairy-fed  pork  is  the  most  wholesome,  and  it  is  always  best 
to  buy  from  a  farm  or  from  a  reliable  dealer. 


PIG— Pork. 

The  Spare  Rib  and  Neck.  i.    Hand. 

4.    Fore  Loin.  5.    Hind 


3.    Belly  or  Spring. 
6.   Leg  (Ham). 


234  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

A  Porker,  i.e.  a  pig  to  be  used  as  fresh  meat,  is  divided  as 
follows : 


Leg  (2),  6d.  to  &/.  a  Ib. 

Loin  (including  fore  loin  and  hind 

loin),  8d.  a  Ib. 
Spare  rib,  6d.  to  8^.  a  Ib. 
Belly  or  Spring,  about  6d.  a  Ib. 
Head  or  Cheek,  about  6d.  a  Ib. 
Hand,  about  6d.  a  Ib. 


Fry— internal  parts— including  : 


Heart  \ 

Liver 

Sweetbread 


[  6d.  a  Ib. 


Chitterlings  ) 
Feet  or  Pettitoes,  id.  to  id.  each. 


The  internal  fat  is  melted  down  and  known  as  Lard, 
price  8d.  a  Ib. 

A  bacon  pig  is  older  than  a  Porker  and  is  divided  dif- 
ferently : 

Legs  (2) — Hams, 

Sides  (2) — Flitch  of  bacon  proper, 

Shoulders  (2), 

Head, 

Chine :   about  6d.  a  Ib. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  bacon,  smoked  and  unsmoked  ;  the 
latter  is  often  known  as  "green  bacon  "  and  costs  from  6d.  to 
7</.  a  Ib. 

The  best  home-cured  Wiltshire  comes  to  yd.  or  lod.  a  Ib. 

Bacon  and  hams  may  be  prepared  in  two  different  ways;  by 
dry  or  wet  pickling. 

When  meat  is  salted  dry  it  has  a  better  flavour,  but  it  loses 
in  weight. 

In  the  wet  process  meat  gains  in  weight,  and  is  said  to 
keep  longer. 

Meat  for  salting  must  be  fresh. 

Sugar,  used  in  pickle,  is  a  powerful  antiseptic  and  gives 
mellowness  to  the  meat. 

Saltpetre  gives  it  a  red  colour,  but  should  not  be  used  in 
large  quantities  as  it  tends  to  harden. 

Pickle  should  always  be  deep  enough  to  cover  the  meat, 
and  be  placed  in  an  earthenware  pan  with  a  tightly-fitting  lid. 


CHAP.  XL] 

Veal  and  Lamb. 


Foods. 


235 


Veal  obtained  from  the  calf,  and  Lamb  taken  from  the 
young  sheep,  are  both  taken  from  immature  animals  and  their 
flesh  contains  a  large  proportion  of  water. 

They  are  less  wholesome  and  digestible  than  beef  and 
mutton,  and  should  be  thoroughly  well-cooked. 

In  choosing  Veal  the  flesh  should  be  of  a  fresh  pink,  fine 
grained  and  plump,  the  fat  white. 


CALF—  Veal. 

Loin,  Chump  end. 


2. 


i.    Loin,  Best  end. 

4.    Hind  Knuckle.  5.    Fore  Knuckle. 

7.    Neck,   Scrag  end.  8.    Blade  Bone. 

10.    Breast,  Brisket  end. 


3.  Fillet. 
6.  Neck,  Best  end. 
9.  Breast,  Best  end. 


236  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Veal  will  not  bear  hanging,  and  should  not  be  kept  more 
than  a  day  or  two,  especially  in  hot  weather. 

There  are  two  so-called  Sweetbreads :  one  from  the  throat, 
the  other  called  the  heart  sweetbread ;  the  latter  is  larger  and 
the  one  most  generally  used. 

Veal  contains : 

Water  Proteids  Fat 

78-82  1976  0-82. 

It  is  divided  into  the  following  joints : 


Head,  from  3/-. 

Loin,  from  lod.  a  Ib. 

Chump. 

Fillet,  gd.  to  i/-  a  Ib. 

Hind  Knuckle,  yd.  a  Ib. 

Fore  Knuckle,  id.  a  Ib. 

Neck,  ^d.  to  gd.  a  Ib. 


Breast,  8d.  a  Ib. 
Feet,  4<£  to  5^.  each. 
Pluck,  including : 

Heart,  lod. 

Liver, 

Lights, 
Sweetbread,  from  2/6  each  to  5/-. 


Lamb.  Lamb  is  to  be  had  from  Christmas,  when  it  is 
called  House  Lamb,  and  is  considered  a  great  delicacy. 

Grass  Lamb  comes  into  season  in  March. 

Like  all  other  meat  obtained  from  young  animals  it  should 
be  thoroughly  cooked. 

The  flesh  should  be  clear  and  firm,  the  fat  delicately  white 
and  hard. 

When  quite  young,  lamb  is  divided  into  quarters ;  and  the 
fore-quarter,  consisting  of  shoulder,  breast  and  neck,  is  con- 
sidered the  best. 

Later  on  the  quarters  are  divided  into  joints : 


Breast,  8d.  to  gd.  a  Ib. 
Fore-quarter,  gd.  to  1/2  a  Ib. 
Hind-quarter,  from  nd.  a  Ib. 
Leg,  nd.  to  i/-  a  Ib. 
Shoulder,  gd.  a  Ib. 


Lamb's  Fry  includes : 
Heart, 

Sweetbreads, 
Liver, 
Kidneys, 
Milt. 


Foreign  Meat.  A  large  quantity  of  foreign  meat  is  im- 
ported to  England  and  sold  at  a  lower  price  than  home-grown 
and  home-killed  meat. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  237 

There  is 

1.  Frozen  Meat. 

This  is  meat  killed  in  the  United  States,  Australia  and 
New  Zealand,  and  frozen  before  rigor  mortis  has  set  in. 

This  kind  of  meat  requires  very  thorough  thawing  before  it 
is  cooked,  and  this  should  not  be  done  before  a  fire,  but  by 
leaving  it  to  hang  in  a  kitchen  or  larder  of  ordinary  temper- 
ature. When  quite  thawed  it  is  ready  for  use,  and,  as  a  rule, 
will  not  bear  keeping  much  longer. 

2.  Animals  exported  alive  and  slaughtered  after  arrival  in 
England. 

The  flesh  is  exposed  to  a  low  temperature  without  being 
actually  frozen,  and  is  then  sent  in  specially  constructed  vans 
to  various  parts  of  the  country. 

Tinned  Meat.  Tinned  meats  are  now  consumed  every- 
where in  large  quantities  and,  if  carefully  used  and  chosen,  are 
wholesome  and  cheap. 

Directly  a  tin  is  opened  the  contents  should  at  once  be 
emptied  into  a  basin. 

Tins  that  have  been  standing  in  shop  windows  and  exposed 
to  sun-light  should  not  be  bought,  nor  those  that  bulge  out- 
wards ;  the  latter  shows  that  the  air  has  not  been  fully  expelled. 

Tins  should  bear  the  name  of  a  well-known  firm  and,  if 
stored  at  home,  should  be  kept  in  a  dark,  cool,  dry  place. 

II.     Poultry. 

§  83.  Poultry  includes  all  domestic  birds  such  as  Turkeys, 
Fowls,  Geese  and  Ducks. 

In  choosing  Poultry  it  is  necessary  to  take  age,  freshness, 
condition  and  colour  into  consideration. 

In  young  birds  the  end  of  the  breast-bone  will  be  gristle 
and  bend  easily,  the  legs  and  feet  are  smooth,  and  in  male 
birds  the  spurs  are  only  represented  by  scaly  knobs. 


238  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

When  fresh  and  in  good  condition  the  skin  looks  clear  and 
unwrinkled,  and  the  flesh  is  plump  and  firm. 

White-legged  fowls  are  best  for  boiling,  while  dark-legged 
fowls  may  be  used  for  roasting ;  but  this  is  entirely  a  matter  of 
taste. 

Being  deficient  in  fat  chickens  are  served  with  bread-sauce 
and  bacon. 

They  are  dear  in  the  spring  and  cheaper  towards  the  end 
of  the  year,  average  price  from  2 s.  6d.  to  35.  6d. 

Ducks  should  be  chosen  by  the  softness  and  elasticity  of 
the  feet  and  the  rounded  contour  of  the  breast. 

They  may  hang  for  a  few  days  before  cooking,  weather 
permitting.  They  are  less  digestible  than  fowls  on  account  of 
the  fat  they  contain  and  the  strong  flavour  of  the  flesh.  Apple 
or  gooseberry  sauce,  and  sage  and  onion  stuffing  are  served 
with  duck  to  correct  the  richness  of  the  dish. 

Ducklings  are  in  season  in  May  and  June. 

Geese  should  have  yellow  pliable  feet,  and  white  skin ;  like 
ducks  they  are  better  hung  for  a  few  days.  They  are  in 
season  in  September,  cost  5/-  to  io/-. 

Turkeys  are  at  their  best  in  December  and  January.  They 
should  hang  for  a  week  before  being  dressed.  Hen  turkeys, 
which  are  considered  the  best,  cost  from  i/-  a  Ib. 

Guinea-Fowls  are  often  used  when  game  is  out  of  season. 
They  are  very  dry  birds  and  should  be  larded  with  fat  bacon 
before  cooking  and  carefully  basted,  cost  from  3^.  6d. 

Rabbits  are  in  season  from  August  to  April.  Wild  ones 
are  best  for  the  table  and  should  be  cooked  while  fresh.  In 
young  rabbits  the  claws  are  sharp  and  the  ear  tears  easily ;  in 
old  ones  the  teeth  are  very  long  and  yellow,  cost  8d.  to 
is.  yd.  each. 


CHAP,  xi.]  Foods.  239 

Pigeons,  9^.  to  i/-  each.  Young  ones  should  be  chosen 
and  the  age  can  be  tested  by  the  wings  which  will  not  be  fully 
fledged  inside,  the  feet  should  be  smooth  and  the  beak  soft. 
They  should  be  drawn  as  soon  as  they  are  killed. 

Game  includes  all  wild  animals  hunted  by  sportsmen  and 
protected  by  law. 

To  attain  perfection  game  must  hang  for  some  days;  the 
length  of  time  depending  on  the  weather,  the  kind  of  larder, 
the  way  the  bird  has  been  killed. 

A  pheasant  will  sometimes  hang  as  long  as  20  days,  but 
should  be  carefully  watched. 

To  judge  the  condition  of  game,  notice  whether  the  eye  is 
much  sunk.  If  almost  invisible  the  bird  has  probably  been 
killed  several  days.  This  year's  birds  may  be  known  by  the 
smoothness  of  the  legs  and  the  softness  of  the  beak. 

In  season.  Price. 

Grouse,  rath  August  to  December  loth.    5/-  to  6/-  a  brace. 

Hares,  October  to  March.  3/6  to  6/-  each. 

Partridges,  ist  September  to  March  lath.       3/-  a  brace. 

Pheasants,  October  to  March   i2th.  6/- a  brace. 

Plovers,  August  to  March  15th.  1/6  each. 

Ptarmigan,  November  to  March.  from  1/6  each. 

Quails,  March  to  July.  i/-  each. 

Snipe,  October  to  March   I5th.  2/6  a  brace. 

Teal,  September  to  February.  1/6  each. 

Wild  Duck,  October  to  December.  i\-  each. 

Woodcock,  December  to  March.  5/-  a  brace. 

Venison,  the  flesh  of  the  deer,  is  a  savoury  food,  short  in 
fibre,  containing  little  fat,  but  when  young  very  tender  and 
rich  in  albumen. 

Buck-venison,  which  is  considered  the  best,  is  in  season 
from  June  to  September;  Doe-venison  from  October  to 
December. 

The  haunch  is  the  prime  joint,  cost  variable. 


240  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 


III.     Fish. 

§  84.  Fish  forms  a  valuable  article  of  diet  when  carefully 
chosen  and  well-cooked. 

It  contains  a  large  proportion  of  water,  a  varying  amount  of 
fat  and  proteids ;  it  is  also  rich  in  gelatine. 

As  in  the  case  of  all  animals,  fish,  when  eaten,  should  be 
fresh. 

A  fresh  fish  should  have  bright  eyes,  red  gills,  plump,  firm 
flesh,  straight,  stiff  tail  and  be  free  from  all  smell. 

Mackerel  and  herrings  keep  a  very  short  time ;  cod,  turbot, 
haddock  and  whiting  keep  best  when  stored  in  a  cool  place. 

During  spawning  fish  is  said  to  be  "  out  of  season  "  and  is 
then  unfit  for  food. 

They  are  divided  by  the  cook  into  three  kinds  : 

1.  Oily  Fish,  i.e.  fish  containing  oil  distributed  through- 
out the  body ;  examples  :  salmon,  herring,  mackerel,  etc. 

2.  White  Fish,  fish  containing  oil  in  the  liver  only ;  such 
as  whiting,  sole,  cod,  etc. 

White  fish  are  the  most  digestible  because  they  contain 
less  fat. 

3.  Shell-Fish : 

(a)  Crustacea  :  Crabs,  Lobsters,  etc. 

(b)  Mollusca  :  Oysters,  Mussels,  etc. 

Shell-fish  are  often  foul  feeders  and  are  considered,  with 
the  exception  of  the  oyster,  very  indigestible.  They  are  best 
eaten  unaccompanied  by  any  liquid. 

Fish  may  also  be  divided  into  Salt  and  Fresh  water  Fish ; 
the  close  time  for  the  latter  is  from  March  i5th  to  June  i5th. 

One  of  the  most  usual  methods  of  cooking   fish   is   by 


CHAP.  XI.] 


Foods. 


241 


boiling ;  the  general  rule  is  to  allow  six  minutes  to  the  Ib.  and 
six  minutes  over,  the  water  should  just  cover  the  fish  and  be 
only  allowed  to  simmer. 

In  frying  fish  care  should  be  taken  to  make  it  as  dry  as 
possible,  first  by  wiping  and  then  by  dusting  over  with  flour. 

The  roe  in  large  fish  is  removed  and  cooked  separately; 
that  of  the  Sturgeon  is  known  as  Caviare. 


White  Fish: 
Cod, 

Haddock, 
Plaice, 
Smelts, 
Sole, 
Turbot, 
Whitebait, 
Whiting, 

Oily  Fish : 
Eels, 
Herring, 
Mackerel, 
Salmon, 

Shell-Fish : 
Lobster, 
Oyster, 
Prawns, 
Mussels, 


Jan. 
Jan. 
Jan. 


fan. 


Feb.,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec. 

Aug.,  Sep.,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec. 

Feb.,  March,   April,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec. 

Feb.,   March,  April,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec. 

Feb.,    Tune  to  Dec. 

Feb.,  March,  April,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec. 


June 

Jan.  to  April,  Aug.  to  Dec. 

Jan.,  Feb.,  June  to  Dec. 
May  to  Dec. 

Jan.  to  June,  Oct.  to  Dec. 
Feb.  to  Sep. 

Feb.  to  Oct. 

Jan.,  Feb.,  March,  April,  Sep.  to  Dec. 

Feb.  to  Nov. 

Jan.  to  April,  Sep.  to  Dec. 


IV.     Milk. 

§  85.  Milk  is  generally  called  a  complete  or  perfect  food, 
because  it  contains  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  support  of  the 
young  mammal. 

It  is  however  too  deficient  in  Carbo-hydrates  to  be  a 
proper  food  for  adults  in  health. 

The  constituents  of  milk  are  in  100  parts  : 

Water         Proteids         Lactose         Fats         Salts 
86  4  5.41. 

B.  16 


242  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  II. 

Milk  contains  these  chemical  substances  as  follows : 

Nitrogenous,  in  the  Casein — curd  and  albumen ; 
Carbo-Hydrates,  in  the  Lactose  or  milk-sugar; 
Fats,  in  the  cream ; 
Mineral  Matters,  in  the  whey,  salts  and  water. 

After  standing  a  short  time  milk  turns  sour,  the  milk-sugar 
having  been  changed  into  lactic  acid  owing  to  the  presence  of 
a  micro-organism  called  Bacterium  lactis,  which  abounds  in 
dairies  and  other  places  where  milk  is  kept.  It  also  readily 
absorbs  disease,  producing  micro-organisms,  and  great  care 
should  be  taken  to  keep  everything  about  milk  scrupulously 
clean. 

All  pans  and  vessels  should  be  scalded  before  use  and  care 
taken  that  the  water  used  is  fresh  and  pure,  and  in  no  way 
contaminated. 

Tuberculosis  or  "  wasting  decline  "  in  cows  affects  the  milk, 
and  the  disease  may  be  conveyed  to  human  beings. 

Scarlet  fever,  enteric  fever  and  diphtheria,  may  also  be 
propagated  by  this  means.  It  is  thus  much  safer  and  better  to 
use  boiled  water  and  boiled  milk,  bacteria  being  effectually 
destroyed  by  exposure  to  a  high  temperature. 

Boiling  milk  gives  it  a  somewhat  disagreeable  taste  but,  if 
it  is  placed  in  an  airy  place  after  boiling  and  the  skin  removed, 
it  soon  loses  this  flavour. 

Even  when  boiled,  milk  should  be  kept  away  from  strongly 
smelling  substances  and  protected  from  dust  by  being  covered 
with  a  piece  of  clean  muslin. 

The  Cream  which  rises  to  the  top  of  the  milk  after 
standing  is  composed  of  globules  of  fat ;  being  lighter  it  rises 
to  the  surface. 

Through  the  process  known  as  churning,  cream  is  con- 
verted into  a  solid  substance  called  butter,  the  most  wholesome 
and  nourishing  form  of  Fatty  Food. 


CHAP.  XI.]  Foods.  243 

Devonshire  or  Clotted  Cream  is  made  from  milk  allowed  to 
stand  and  then  placed  over  gentle  heat.  When  the  milk  has 
reached  a  certain  temperature  the  cream  clots  and  can  then  be 
taken  off. 

Cream  is  often  removed  by  means  of  a  separator  and  the 
milk  left  behind  is  called  skim-milk.  It  is  very  wholesome 
and  nutritious,  and  can  be  obtained  more  cheaply  than  whole- 
milk. 

Butter-milk  is  what  is  left  when  butter  has  been  made  and 
contains  all  the  constituents  of  milk,  even  a  small  proportion 
of  fat ;  it  is  useful  in  cases  of  Catarrh  of  the  stomach. 

Casein,  which  is  one  of  the  proteids  contained  in  milk,  is 
the  chief  constituent  of  Cheese. 

In  making  Cheese  the  new  milk  is  placed  in  a  vessel  and 
warmed,  and  then  a  curdling  ferment  is  introduced.  Rennet 
is  the  one  in  general  use  and  is  obtained  from  the  stomach  of 
the  calf. 

The  curd  thus  produced  is  separated  from  the  whey  and 
pressed  into  moulds. 

It  is  known  as 

Whole-milk  Cheese, 
Skim-milk  Cheese, 
Cream-Cheese. 

Also  as  "hard"  or  "soft"  cheese. 

It  is  composed  of  almost  equal  parts  of  water,  fat  and 
casein,  with  salts,  and  is  most  nutritious. 

One  Ib.  of  cheese  contains  as  much  nourishment  as  two  Ibs. 
of  meat,  but  unless  eaten  by  persons  engaged  in  hard,  out  of 
door  work,  is  indigestible. 

Milk  may  be  preserved  in  various  ways,  but  should  never 
be  used  when  fresh  milk  can  be  obtained. 

1 6— 2 


244  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

1.  Condensed  Milk.     Condensed  milk  is  prepared  by  the 
evaporation  of  the  water  and  is  kept  in  hermetically  sealed 
tins. 

There  are  two  kinds,  sweetened  and  unsweetened :  the 
latter  should  be  used  directly  the  tin  is  opened ;  the  former  is 
very  fattening  on  account  of  the  quantity  of  sugar  it  contains. 

2.  Chemicals    may    be    added,    boracic    acid   is   one   in 
general  use.     The  use  of  boracic  acid  is  now  considered  unsafe 
but  has  not  yet  been  absolutely  condemned.     Cream  to  which 
chemicals  have  been  added  cannot  be  whipped. 

3.  Milk  may  be  desiccated  after  evaporation. 

4.  It  may  be  preserved  by  the  application  of 

(a)  heat,  as  in  boiling,  or 

(b)  cold,  as  in  freezing. 

Cold  does  not  destroy  the  disease-producing  bacteria,  heat 
does. 

The  composition  of  milk  varies  in  different  animals. 

Mare's  and  ass's  milk  resemble  human  milk  very  closely, 
cow's  milk  is  richer,  except  in  sugar. 

The  latter  forms  large  clots  of  curd  in  the  stomach  and 
should  be  diluted  by  adding  boiling  water  or  barley  water 
before  being  given  to  an  infant. 

In  using  boiling  water,  dilute  at  first  to  three  times  its  bulk 
and  add  a  little  sugar. 

Barley  water  contains  so  much  mucilage  that  it  prevents 
the  casein  from  forming  large  hard  clots  and  is  also  nourishing. 

It  should  be  given  to  an  infant  in  the  proportion  of  one 
tablespoonful  of  milk  to  two  of  barley  water. 

At  six  months  old,  the  quantities  should  be  half-and-half. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  245 


EGGS. 

§  86.  Next  to  milk,  eggs  form  an  important,  perfect  food, 
the  young  chicken  being  entirely  developed  out  of  the  nutri- 
ment contained  in  the  egg  and  shell. 

They  are  deficient  in  Carbo-hydrates  and  Salts,  which  are 
supplied  when  eggs  are  eaten  with  bread  and  butter  and  salt. 

An  egg  consists  of : 

1.  The  Yolk,  which  is  rich  in  fat  and  phosphates. 

2.  The  White,  which  consists  chiefly  of  albumen  and 
water  enclosed  in  a  delicate  membrane. 

It  is  semi-transparent,  liquid  and  glairy  in  a  raw  condition, 
but  on  being  exposed  to  heat  coagulates  at  a  temperature  of 
1 60°  Fahrenheit.  The  white  then  becomes  opaque,  solid  and 
smooth,  and  is  much  less  digestible  than  in  a  raw  condition. 

For  boiling  it  is  best  to  put  eggs  into  cold  water  and  bring 
them  to  the  boil. 

The  addition  of  alcohol  has  also  the  effect  of  coagulating 
albumen  and  making  it  into  a  hard,  cheesy,  indigestible  mass. 

The  practice  of  putting  eggs  into  puddings  to  make  them 
light  is  somewhat  misleading,  as  the  lightness  is  not  due  to 
the  eggs,  which  harden  in  cooking,  but  to  the  whipping  of 
the  yolk  and  whites.  In  this  process  air  is  introduced  and 
the  albumen  divided  into  fine  particles,  instead  of  being  pre- 
sented in  a  mass. 

As  the  decomposition  of  eggs  is  due  to  the  introduction  of 
germs  through  the  porous  shell,  they  may  be  preserved  : 

1.  By  smearing  them  over  with  some  fatty  substance  to 
exclude  the  air. 

2.  By  keeping  them  in  sawdust. 

3.  By  steeping  them  in  a  mixture  of  lime  and  water. 

4.  By  keeping  them  in  brine. 


246  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  IT. 

The  freshness  of  an  egg  may  be  tested  by  holding  it  up  to 
the  light,  when  it  should  look  clear. 

•  Another  method  is  to  make  a  solution  of  salt  and  water — 
i  oz.  common  salt  to  \  pint  water. — A  good  egg  will  sink  in 
this  mixture,  while  a  bad  egg  will  float  on  the  top. 

The  eggs  in  general  use  are  hens'  eggs,  and  the  average 
weight  is  about  2  oz. 

Ducks'  and  turkeys'  eggs  are  also  used,  and  plovers'  eggs 
are  considered  a  great  delicacy. 

The  price  of  eggs  varies  with  locality  and  season,  the  dearest 
time  being  during  the  autumn  and  winter  months. 

The  so-called  "  egg  and  custard  powders  "  have  no  connec- 
tion with  eggs  proper;  they  only  consist  of  baking  powder 
and  some  form  of  starch  coloured  a  pale  yellow.  This  should 
be  borne  in  mind  when  preparing  food  for  invalids,  as  these 
powders,  quite  harmless  in  themselves,  in  no  way  replace  the 
nutritive  value  of  a  hen's  egg. 

VEGETABLES. 

§  87.  Vegetable  Foods,  which  may  be  divided  for 
convenience  into  Cereals,  Roots  and  Tubers,  Green 
Vegetables  and  Legumes,  are  too  often,  in  England  espe- 
cially, looked  upon  merely  as  accessories  or  Food  Adjuncts. 

They  contain  the  same  proximate  principles  as  are  found 
in  the  animal  kingdom,  Proteids  in  the  form  of  Legumin 
and  Gluten,  Carbo-hydrates  in  the  Starch,  Sugar  and 
Cellulose,  Mineral  Matters  in  the  Potash,  Phosphates  and 
water ;  they  are  deficient  in  fat. 

It  is  gradually  being  recognized  that  vegetable  foods, 
taken  in  proper  proportion  with  cream,  butter,  cheese,  eggs 
and  milk,  form  a  healthy,  nourishing  diet ;  and,  according  to 
Dr  Haig  in  Diet  and  Food,  "  The  Vegetarians  of  this  country 
are  pretty  decidedly  superior  in  endurance  to  those  who  feed 
on'animal  tissues." 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  247 

For  economy's  sake  this  may  be  pointed  out  with  advantage 
to  the  working  class,  peas,  haricot  beans  and  lentils  being 
highly  nitrogenous,  and  their  cost  within  the  reach  of  all.  . 

Cereals  occupy  the  most  important  part  among  the 
vegetable  foods :  wheat  in  Europe ;  rice  and  maize  in  India, 
Africa,  and  America  form  the  staple  diet. 

Under  the  head  of  Cereals  are  included  all  corn-bearing 
plants  in  which  the  nitrogenous  matters  are  present  in  the  form 
of  gluten  found  after  the  removal  of  the  starch. 

The  tenacity  and  adhesiveness  of  the  gluten  found  in 
wheat  and  rye  enables  them  to  be  made  into  bread. 

Wheat  is  an  annual  cereal  grass,  bearing  grains  in  rows 
on  an  ear-stalk. 

The  two  kinds  generally  used  are  known  as  bearded  or 
beardless,  also  red  or  white. 

The  grain  has  two  coats.  The  inner  one  is  composed  of 
bran-cells,  underneath  which  are  the  gluten-cells.  The  centre 
of  the  grain  is  composed  of  starch-grains. 

In  the  process  of  grinding  the  bran  is  separated  from  the 
flour ;  the  latter  is  either  white  or  yellowish-white,  the  former 
contains  little  except  starch,  and  is  far  less  nourishing  than 
the  flour  known  as  "seconds." 

Whole-meal  is  a  mixture  of  bran  and  flour,  and  is  used  in 
making  brown  bread. 

It  retains  all  the  nourishment  of  the  grain,  but  is  some- 
times difficult  to  digest ;  it  is  excellent  in  cases  of  consti- 
pation. 

Preparations  of  wheat  containing  a  large  proportion  of 
gluten  are  much  used  as  foods;  the  best  known  are  Semo- 
lina, Macaroni  and  Vermicelli. 

Their  nutritive  value  is  greater  than  that  of  bread. 

Rye  is  little  used  in  England,  but  in  Germany  and  Russia 
it  is  made  into  "black  bread,"  a  heavy,  sourish,  indigestible 
compound. 


248  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

A  mixture  of  wheat-flour  and  rye  makes  a  good  bread. 

Oats  form  a  very  important  class  of  cereals  containing  an 
abundance  of  proteids  as  well  as  fats  and  salts. 

The  nitrogenous  principles  of  oats  have  no  adhesiveness, 
therefore  cannot  be  made  into  bread. 

Groats  are  the  grains  freed  from  husks,  and  in  a  crushed 
form  are  sold  as  Quaker  Oats,  etc.  for  porridge  and  gruel. 

Oatmeal  in  water  forms  a  refreshing  drink  in  hot  weather, 
and  oatmeal  jelly  is  valuable  for  invalids  suffering  from  stomach 
troubles. 

Barley  resembles  wheat,  but  the  proteids,  like  those  of 
oats,  do  not  form  gluten  with  the  addition  of  water. 

When  husked  and  ground,  barley  is  known  as  pearl-barley. 
(For  the  conversion  of  barley  into  malt,  see  Beer.) 

Barley-water  is  most  useful  for  invalids  and  babies,  and 
may  be  flavoured  with  lemon  or  mixed  with  milk. 

In  preparing  barley-water  for  infants,  the  barley  should 
first  be  blanched — i.e.  put  on  in  cold  water  and  brought  to 
the  boil — then  put  on  to  boil  in  the  proportion  of  i  oz.  pearl- 
barley  to  i  pint  of  water.  It  should  boil  until  reduced  to  half 
a  pint  and  then  be  strained.  Thin  barley-water  makes  a  re- 
freshing, wholesome  drink. 

Blanch  i  oz.  pearl-barley  in  one  pint  of  water.  Strain  and 
place  at  the  bottom  of  a  jug  with  sugar  and  lemon  rind,  then 
pour  over  i  pint  of  boiling  water,  cover  and  strain  when  cold. 

Maize  or  Indian  Corn  contains  little  proteid  matter, 
but  has  the  most  fat  next  to  Oatmeal.  In  America  it  is  used 
when  green  as  a  vegetable.  The  best  known  preparations  of 
maize  are,  Hominy,  Oswego  flour,  and  Cornflour. 

Rice  consists  chiefly  of  starch  and  should  always  be 
eaten  with  other  foods  rich  in  proteids. 

The  two  kinds  of  Rice  in  general  use  are  Patna  and 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  249 

Carolina.  The  former  is  a  long,  white-pointed  grain,  and  is 
used  for  curries  or  when  the  rice  is  required  to  be  served  dry. 

Carolina  Rice  is  larger,  absorbs  liquid  more  readily,  and  is 
made  into  puddings,  etc. 

In  cooking,  rice  should  be  steamed,  not  boiled,  as  a  large 
quantity  of  the  nutriment  is  carried  off  in  the  water. 

Roots  and  Tubers. 

This  division  of  the  vegetable  foods  is  composed  almost 
entirely  of  starch  and  water  and  salts ;  the  best  known  are  the 
Potato  and  the  Jerusalem  Artichoke. 

They  are  deficient  in  proteids  and  fat. 

Potatoes  consist  of  95  °/o  of  starch  and  water,  and  are 
too  poor  in  proteid  matters  to  support  life  unless  the  defi- 
ciency is  supplied,  but  with  the  addition  of  butter,  cheese, 
butter-milk,  etc.  may  form  a  wholesome,  palatable  food,  the 
staple  diet  in  some  parts  of  Ireland. 

Old  potatoes,  on  being  boiled,  should  present  a  floury 
appearance ;  this  is  due  to  the  bursting  of  the  starch-grains. 
Young  potatoes  contain  immature  starch-cells,  and  when  boiled 
look  waxy  and  are  indigestible  and  unwholesome.  The  pro- 
cess of  steaming  retains  the  salts,  which  are  otherwise  lost  in 
the  water;  another  way  is  to  cook  potatoes  in  their  "jackets." 

Jerusalem  Artichokes  are  tubers  of  the  sunflower 
family.  They  contain  no  starch  and  do  not  become  floury 
when  boiled.  They  are  in  season  during  the  winter  months. 

Sweet  Potato.  The  difference  between  it  and  the  true 
potato  is  the  presence  of  sugar  in  the  former. 

Yams  are  tropical  tubers ;  they  keep  well  and  are  floury 
and  palatable. 

Roots. 

Root  vegetables  are  not  so  much  foods  as  anti-scorbutics, 
and  valuable  on  account  of  the  salts  tj,iey  contain. 


250  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Turnips  contain  but  little  nourishment ;  they  are  watery 
and  have  no  starch,  but  a  jelly-like  substance  of  the  nature  of 
pectose.  The  young  leaves,  known  as  turnip-tops,  are  used  as 
greens. 

Carrots  contain  no  starch,  but  a  fair  percentage  of  sugar, 
and  are  wholesome  when  young. 

Parsnips  are  used  during  the  winter  months ;  they  con- 
sist of  a  good  deal  of  starch  and  some  sugar. 

Beetroot  is  grown  in  France  for  sugar.  The  plant  used 
as  a  vegetable  should  be  carefully  prepared,  as  any  break  or 
cut  will  cause  the  roots  to  "  bleed,"  the  red  juice  is  lost,  and 
the  beet  looks  pale  and  flabby. 

Salsify,  another  useful  root  vegetable,  is  but  little  known ; 
it  is  easily  grown  and  can  be  served  in  many  ways,  and  is  a 
most  valuable  addition  to  the  winter  list. 

Onions.  This  plant  has  a  bulb,  the  part  usually  eaten, 
and  the  strong  flavour  is  due  to  the  presence  of  a  pungent  oil 

Onions  grown  in  England  are  used  for  flavouring,  while 
the  milder  onions  imported  from  Spain  and  Portugal  are 
served  as  vegetables.  The  strong  taste,  disliked  by  many, 
can  to  a  great  extent  be  overcome  by  putting  the  onions 
on  to  cook  in  cold  water,  bringing  them  to  the  boil,  and 
throwing  away  the  first  water.  All  articles  used  in  preparing 
onions  should  be  washed  in  cold  water.  This  prevents  the 
oil  globules  from  bursting  and  soaking  into  the  wooden  board 
or  spoon. 

To  theOnion  tribe belongLeeks,  Eschalots  "Shallots," 
and  Chives,  the  latter  being  of  a  delicate  flavour  and  useful 
in  omelet  making. 

In  Garlic  the  bulb  is  composed  of  divisions  called 
Cloves;  it  is  largely  used  in  Spain,  it  has  a  strong  taste, 
but  is  very  nutritious. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  251 

Green  Vegetables. 

Green  vegetables  are  chiefly  valuable  for  the  salts  and 
acids  they  contain. 

The  Cabbage,  of  which  there  are  many  varieties,  is  the 
most  familiar  example  of  this  class  of  vegetable.  The  best 
known  are  Savoy,  Kale,  Red  Cabbage.  Their  main 
constituent  is  cellulose,  which  cannot  be  digested  except  in 
a  very  young  state ;  nevertheless  they  are  very  important  for 
the  maintenance  of  health,  a  certain  amount  of  indigestible 
material  acting  as  a  stimulant  to  the  alimentary  canal.  They 
also  contain  potash  and  other  salts. 

Before  cooking  green  vegetables,  they  should  be  carefully 
washed  and  soaked  in  salt  and  water  to  draw  out  any  insects. 
Cabbages  should  be  boiled  in  soft  water  with  no  lid  on  the 
saucepan  to  keep  them  a  good  colour. 

Sauer  Kraut  is  made  from  sliced  cabbage  sprinkled  with 
salt,  pressed  and  fermented.  Vinegar  is  generally  added. 

Water  in  which  cabbages  have  been  boiled  should  not  be 
allowed  to  go  down  the  scullery  drain,  but  should  be  poured 
away  outside,  on  earth  if  possible. 

Sea  Kale  belongs  to  the  same  family.  It  is  forced,  and 
the  blanched  stems  and  leaf-stalks  are  the  parts  eaten. 

Brussels  Sprouts  are  little  clusters  of  leaves  like  minia- 
ture cabbages  formed  in  the  axil  of  the  leaves. 

Spinach  is  a  specially  wholesome  vegetable.  The  leaves 
should  only  be  used  when  quite  young ;  they  contain  so  much 
water  that  in  cooking  they  may  be  tightly  packed  into  the 
saucepan  and  no  water  added. 

Celery  may  be  eaten  raw  or  cooked.  The  leaf-stalks  are 
blanched  by  being  grown  underground ;  it  is  considered  good 
for  rheumatism. 

Asparagus  was  originally  a  wild  seaside  English  plant, 


252  Domestic  Economy.  [IT.  11. 

now  extensively  cultivated  and  looked  upon  as  a  delicacy. 
The  green  kind  is  the  best.  In  cooking,  it  should  be  tied  up 
in  bundles,  the  stalks  only  allowed  to  stand  in  the  boiling 
water ;  the  heads  cook  in  the  steam. 

Globe  or  Green  Artichokes  are  a  species  of  cultivated 
Thistles.  The  heads  are  boiled  and  the  leaves  eaten  with 
sauce  or  melted  butter.  Inside  the  leaves  is  a  white  part 
called  artichoke  bottom.  These  can  be  preserved  in  brine, 
and  are  largely  used  in  high-class  cookery. 

Sorrel  is  rich  in  oxalic  acid,  and  is  much  used  for 
soups  and  sauces  in  conjunction  with  veal,  a  tasteless  dish 
in  itself. 

Lettuces  are  generally  served  raw,  and  form  the  bulk  of 
the  salads  eaten  in  England.  They  are  said  to  possess  narcotic 
properties. 

Other  green  foods  used  in  salads  are  Endive,  Water- 
cress, Mustard  and  Cress. 

They  have  very  little  nutritive  value,  but  are  rich  in  salts 
and  serve  to  introduce  large  quantities  of  water  into  the  system 
and  are  particularly  refreshing  in  hot  weather. 

Before  passing  to  the  Legumes  or  Pod  vegetables  there 
are  a  few  fruits  to  be  considered  which  are  not  valued  because 
of  the  sugar  they  contain  and  which  generally  accompany 
foods  with  which  salt  is  taken. 

The  Tomato  is  now  extensively  grown  in  Great  Britain, 
and  its  use  is  yearly  increasing.  It  may  be  cooked  in  many 
different  ways  and  is  excellent  eaten  raw.  Preserved  it  is 
known  as  ketchup,  a  sauce  resembling  the  well-known  mush- 
room ketchup,  or  may  be  tinned  or  bottled. 

Vegetable  Marrows.  These  are  allied  to  the  common 
gourd.  They  are  largely  grown  as  vegetables,  but  they  contain 
little  nourishment,  94  °/o  being  composed  of  water. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods. 

Cucumbers.  These  also  belong  to  the  Gourd  Order. 
They  are  more  juicy  and  digestible  when  grown  quickly  under 
glass,  and  contain  9o°/0  of  water.  Young  cucumbers  pickled 
in  vinegar  are  known  as  gherkins. 

The  name  of  pulse  is  applied  to  peas,  beans,  etc.,  the  edible 
contents  of  pods  or  legumes — and  denotes  a  very  valuable 
class  of  food  stuffs,  containing  a  far  higher  percentage  of 
proteid  matters  than  do  the  cereals.  Pulse  also  contains  a 
good  deal  of  starch  and  of  the  salts  of  lime  and  potash,  but  is 
deficient  in  fats ;  hence  the  familiar  combination  of  "  beans 
and  bacon,  pease-pudding  and  pork." 

Peas.  The  cultivated  or  garden  pea  is  probably  derived 
from  a  plant  native  of  countries  bordering  the  Black  Sea. 

It  is  extensively  cultivated  in  England  and  is  eaten  green 
as  a  fresh  vegetable  or  dry  in  the  form  of  split  peas,  pea-meal, 
etc.  The  latter  are  generally  prepared  from  the  field  pea. 
Legumes  preserved  by  drying  should  always  be  soaked  for  at 
least  1 2  hours  before  use. 

Beans.  There  are  several  kinds  of  beans,  but  the 
Haricot  or  French  bean,  and  the  Scarlet  Runner  may  fairly 
be  taken  as  examples  of  the  same  family.  The  pods  are 
gathered  green  in  an  unripe  condition  and  are  eaten  as  a  fresh 
vegetable. 

By  Haricot  beans  in  England,  the  white  seeds  dried  are 
generally  understood. 

When  soaked  in  soft  water  and  carefully  cooked  they  form 
a  most  valuable  article  of  diet  and  should  be  more  largely 
used.  The  peculiar  "  beany  "  flavour,  so  disagreeable  to  many, 
may  be  removed  by  throwing  away  the  first  water  in  which 
they  are  cooked.  They  form  a  cheap,  nutritious  diet  when 
served  with  fat  or  starchy  foods. 

Flageolets  are  preserved  green  Haricots.  Sir  Henry 
Thompson  says  of  Haricots  in  Food  and  Feeding:  "There  is 


254  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

no  product  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  so  nutritious,  holding  its 
own  in  this  respect,  as  it  well  can,  even  against  the  beef  and 
mutton  of  the  animal  kingdom." 

The  broad  or  Windsor  bean  makes  an  excellent  vegetable 
when  eaten  young,  but  the  skin  or  outer  covering  soon  becomes 
hard  and  indigestible. 

Lentils.  This  plant  is  largely  grown  in  South  Europe. 
There  are  several  varieties,  but  the  red  kind  is  perhaps  the 
best.  Lentils  are  the  only  Legumes  that  do  not  contain 
sulphur.  They  are  richer  in  proteid  matters  than  peas  and 
beans.  Revalenta  Arabica  and  other  preparations  ad- 
vertised for  dyspeptic  patients  are  largely  composed  of  Lentil 
flour. 

Fungi.  Fungi  may  be  mentioned  here  among  Vegetable 
Foods,  although  they  are  not  so  largely  eaten  as  such  in 
England  as  they  are  on  the  Continent.  They  are  rich  in 
Proteids  and  some  kinds  contain  fat  or  oil. 

Edible  Fungi  are  seldom  high  coloured,  scaly  or  spotted, 
and  should  always  be  eaten  fresh.  The  common  mushroom, 
Agaricus  Campestris^  is  the  one  usually  sold,  it  may  be  stewed, 
boiled  or  pickled;  when  salted  and  pressed  a  sauce  called 
Ketchup  is  produced,  largely  used  for  flavouring. 

The  Morel,  another  species,  is  also  used  for  the  same 
purpose. 

The  Truffle  is  a  subterranean  aromatic  fungus  found  chiefly 
in  France  and  Italy,  where  it  is  rooted  out  by  pigs,  or  by  dogs 
trained  for  the  purpose. 

Iceland  Moss  is  a  lichen  found  as  its  name  implies  in 
Iceland,  growing  upon  otherwise  barren  rocks.  It  contains  a 
particular  kind  of  starch,  which  is  recommended  to  diabetic 
patients  as  a  substitute  for  ordinary  bread. 

Irish  Moss  is  in  reality  a  seaweed.  Its  chief  constituent 
is  a  kind  of  mucilage  which  yields  a  jelly  on  boiling  and  may 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  255 

be  used  with  milk  to  form  a  "shape."  It  is  nutritious  and 
digestible,  but  should  be  soaked  in  cold  water  for  at  least  an 
hour  before  use. 

§  88.  Fruits.  Fruits  are  that  part  of  the  plant  which 
succeeds  the  flower.  They  are  very  valuable  in  the  daily 
dietary,  not  only  because  of  their  nutritive  value,  but  also  on 
account  of  the  Potash  salts  and  the  acids  they  contain.  Fruits 
vary  considerably  in  Food  Value.  They  contain  a  substance 
called  Pectose  and  should  always  be  eaten  in  a  sound,  whole- 
some condition.  Pectose  is  found  in  many  fruits  while  in  an 
unripe  condition.  This  is  converted  into  Pectin  by  the  ferment 
action  known  as  ripening  or  in  the  process  of  boiling.  The 
setting  or  firmness  of  red  currant  jelly  and  other  preparations 
of  fruit,  are  due  to  substances  resembling  Pectose. 

Fruits  for  domestic  purposes  may  be  divided  as  follows : 

1.  Berries. 

Gooseberries— Red,  White  and  Black  Currants — Straw- 
berries, wild  and  cultivated — Raspberries — Blackberries — 
Whortleberries  and  Cranberries.  The  latter  are  largely  im- 
ported from  North  America  and  Russia,  and  make  a  pleasant 
change  in  the  winter  when  mixed  with  apples. 

2.  Fruit  with  Pips. 

Apples,  of  which  there  are  many  varieties  both  for  cooking 
and  eating.  They  are  used  too  to  make  a  fermented  drink 
called  Cider. 

Pears.  These  are  generally  gathered  when  hard  and  taste- 
less and  are  stored  for  several  months  before  they  are  fit  to  eat. 
Cooking  pears  are  best  stewed  gently  in  a  jar  with  the  addition 
of  sugar,  water,  and  some  flavouring,  such  as  cloves  or  lemon 
peel. 

The  Quince  is  a  strongly-flavoured  fruit  and  is  often  added 
to  preparations  of  apple.  It  makes  excellent  marmalade  and 
jelly. 


256  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Medlars  are  a  brown  looking  fruit  picked  in  late  autumn. 
They  are  uneatable  until  they  go  through  a  natural  process 
resembling  decay. 

Oranges.  There  are  many  varieties,  the  best  known  are 
the  Tangerine,  a  small  orange  with  a  fragrant,  easily  detached 
rind,  the  Maltese  or  blood  orange,  the  bitter  or  Seville  orange. 
The  latter  is  used  for  the  preserve  known  as  orange  marmalade. 

The  Lemon,  highly  prized  for  its  citric  acid  and  the 
fragrant,  essential  oil  contained  in  the  rind,  pomegranates, 
pine-apples,  are  fruits  imported  into  England  in  large  quantities 
every  year. 

Grapes,  both  black  and  white,  when  fresh  and  ripe,  contain 
nearly  2o°/o  of  sugar.  They  are  chiefly  grown  for  the  purpose 
of  making  wine. 

3.     Stone  Fruits. 

These  all  have  a  hard  seed  containing  an  edible  kernel, 
and  are  the  least  wholesome  fruits. 

Cherries  are  rich  in  sugar.  The  Morello  which  is  less 
sweet  than  the  ordinary  kind,  is  used  in  preparing  the  liqueur, 
Cherry  Brandy. 

To  the  Stone  Fruits  belong  Plums,  including  Damsons, 
Prunes,  Greengages,  etc.  Also  Apricots,  Peaches  and  Necta- 
rines. 

Figs,  Dates  and  Bananas  are  all  fruits  rich  in  nutritive 
value ;  the  two  former  contain  more  than  half  their  weight  of 
sugar,  while  Bananas  contain  less  water  and  more  nitrogenous 
matter  than  is  generally  found  in  fresh  fruits. 

Fruits  may  be  preserved  by 

1.  Drying,  raisins,  currants,  figs,  etc. 

2.  Bottling,  gooseberries,  cherries,  etc. 

3.  Preserving  with  sugars  in  Jams  and  Jellies. 

Nuts  are  food  products  of  great  value ;  with  the  exception 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  257 

of  the  Chestnut  they  contain  little  or  no  starch,*  but  much 
nitrogenous  matter  and  a  large  percentage  of  oil  or  fat. 

They  form  a  rich  food  and  are  difficult  of  digestion  unless 
ground  into  meal. 

Spanish  Chestnuts  are  chiefly  grown  in  South  Europe, 
where  they  are  made  into  flour  and  mixed  with  maize  to  form 
the  well-known  Italian  Polenta. 


FOOD  ACCESSORIES. 

§  89.  Food  Adjuncts  are  not,  as  the  German  word 
"  Geniissmittel "  implies,  necessary  for  existence,  but  they  are 
important  aids  to  digestion  and  are  used  to  improve  the  flavour 
of  food  and  to  render  it  more  appetizing. 

They  all,  with  the  exception  of  salt  and  vinegar,  contain 
essential  oils,  which  stimulate  the  secretion  of  the  digestive 
juices. 

They  may  be  divided  into  Condiments,  Spices,  Flavourings, 
Acids,  Oils,  and  Salt. 

Under  the  head  of  Condiments  are  found  : 

1.  Mustard,   made  from    the  seeds  of  a   plant   grown 
chiefly  in  England.     There  are  two  kinds,  white  and  black. 
The  seeds  are  dried,  sorted  and  ground.     Mustard  is  hot  and 
pungent,  and  excites  the  palate. 

2.  Pepper,  the  fruit  of  a  shrub  found  in  the  East  Indies. 
Black  pepper  is  prepared  from  the  berries  before  they  are  ripe ; 
white  pepper  is  made  by  removing  the  dark  covering  when  the 
fruit  is  ripe,  it  is  less  pungent. 

3.  Cayenne  Pepper  is  prepared  from  the  red  pods  of  a 
kind  of  Capsicum ;  the  pods  are  called  Chillies. 

4.  Capers  are  the  fruit  of  a  wall  plant,  which  grows  in 
the  environs  of  Toulouse  and  Lyons;   they  are  pickled  and 
exported. 

B.  17 


25$  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Spices. 

1.  Nutmegs  are  found  in  the  Banda  Islands  and  New 
Guinea.     Mace  is  the  thin  skin  found  between  the  shell  and 
the  Nutmeg. 

2.  Cloves  are  the  dried   calyx  and  flower  buds  of  an 
evergreen  tree  belonging  to  the  Myrtle  order,  growing  in  the 
East  Indies. 

3.  Cinnamon  is  the  bark  of  a  tree  grown  in  Ceylon 
and  used  either  ground  or  in  sticks  as  a  flavouring. 

4.  Allspice  or  Pimento  is  a  small  dry  berry  from  an 
evergreen  tree  grown  chiefly  in  Jamaica. 

5.  Ginger  is  the  root  of  a  plant  which  grows  in  hot 
countries.     It  is  picked  green  for  preserving  in  syrup.     The 
root  is  washed  and  dried  for  ordinary  purposes  and  should  be 
bought  in  this  state  and  grated  when  wanted  ;  powdered  ginger 
is  often  adulterated. 

6.  Cardamoms  are  the  aromatic  fruits  of  several  plants 
belonging  to  the  ginger  order.    They  are  used  to  give  pungency 
and  are  one  of  the  ingredients  of  curry  powder. 

7.  Bayleaves  are  picked  from  a  species  of  Laurel  and 
used  as  a  flavouring  either,  in  a  fresh  condition  or  after  having 
been  carefully  dried.     For  keeping  they  should  be  gathered  on 
a  fine  day. 

8.  Curry  powder   or  paste  is  a  mixture  of  aromatic 
spices,  the   former  is  a  dry  mixture  and  should  be  kept  in 
tightly  corked  bottles. 

The  following  is  a  good  recipe : 

1 2  ozs.  Turmeric  i  \  ozs.  Cayenne  pepper. 

8  ozs.  Coriander  seed       \  oz.  Cardamoms. 
6  ozs.  Ginger  \  oz.  Cinnamon. 

5  ozs.  Mustard  \  oz.  Cummin. 

5  ozs.  Black  pepper         J  oz.  Pimento. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  259 

Under  the  head  of  Flavourings  are  included  : 

1.  Vanilla.     Obtained  from  the  fruit  of  an  orchid.     The 
pods,  of  which  each  plant  bears  about  40  annually,  are  the 
parts  used  for  flavouring  chocolate,  cream,  ices,  etc. 

2.  Bitter  Almonds.     This  oil  is  obtained  from  bitter 
almonds  by  maceration  in  water  and  distillation. 

3.  Lemon  Peel  is  the  rind  of  the  lemon  and  owes  its 
fragrance   to    an    essential   oil.     The   fresh    peel   is    used    for 
flavouring,  but  it  may  also  be  preserved  by  drying  and  it  is 
eaten  after  boiling  in  syrup  as  Candied  Peel. 

Herbs  are  used  for  flavouring;  they  should  be  picked  in 
the  summer,  carefully  dried  in  the  sun,  powdered  and  kept  in 
tightly-corked  bottles.  The  herbs  in  general  use  are  Parsley, 
Thyme,  Marjoram,  Sweet  Basil,  Sage;  the  former  is  used 
fresh. 

Acids. 

1.  Vinegar   is   the   most  useful  acid  employed  in  the 
processes  of  cookery.     The  chief  varieties  are  Wine  Vinegar, 
Malt  Vinegar,  and  Wood  Vinegar ;  the  two  first  are  produced 
by  the  fermentation  of  alcohol.    The  use  of  vinegar  in  modera- 
tion helps  to  maintain  the  alkalinity  of  the  blood,  but  when 
taken  in  excess  it  impairs  digestion.    Vinegar  is  largely  used  in 
the   preparation   of    pickles,    such    as    onions,   gherkins,    red 
cabbage,  unripe  walnuts,  etc. 

2.  Lemon  juice  is  a  great  anti-scorbutic.     It  should  be 
clear,  with  an  acid  but  not  bitter  taste.    Citric  acid,  a  chemical 
product,  is  often  substituted  for  it.     Vegetable  acids  are  chiefly 
found  in  fruits.     Tartaric  acid  in  grapes,  malic  acid  in  apples, 
oxalic   acid   in    rhubarb,   tomatoes   and   sorrel,   citric  acid  in 
oranges  and  lemons. 

Oils  can  hardly  be  classed  under  the  head  of  Food 
Accessories  as  they  really  form  an  rmportant  section  of  Car- 

17—2 


260  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

bonaceous  foods.  They  are  found  most  abundantly  in  the  fruits 
and  seeds  of  plants.  Olive  oil  occupies  the  first  place  among 
vegetable  oils.  It  is  obtained  from  the  fleshy  exterior  of  the 
fruit  of  the  olive  tree  largely  grown  in  the  south  of  Europe 
and  in  the  East.  As  an  adulterant  cotton  seed  oil  is  often 
substituted  and  is  difficult  to  detect.  In  England  olive  oil  is 
only  used  as  a  salad  dressing,  but  in  a  pure  state  it  forms  the 
best  frying  medium.  It  possesses  the  advantages  of  never 
getting  rancid  or  dry  and  of  not  freezing  at  ordinary  tem- 
peratures. 

§  90.  Salts  are  essential  as  an  ingredient  in  foods.  They 
occur  in  most  drinking  waters  and  are  found  in  all  parts  of 
plants  and  animals  used  as  food.  Besides  chloride  of  sodium 
or  common  salt  which  is  added  to  all  foods,  there  are  the  salts 
of  the  vegetable  acids,  useful  in  preserving  the  alkalinity  of 
the  blood  and  preventing  scurvy;  phosphates  and  potash  salts 
contained  in  vegetable  and  animal  foods,  phosphate  of  lime 
found  chiefly  in  seeds  and  fruits,  and  iron  which  occurs  in 
nearly  all  articles  of  food  in  minute  quantities. 

Salt,  Chloride  of  Sodium,  is  a  mineral  consisting  of  crystals 
which  are  white  and  sparkling  when  purified.  It  absorbs 
moisture  very  readily  and  is  soluble  in  water. 

Common  salt 'is  obtained  either  as 

(1)  Rock  salt,  when  the  salt  is  found  in  mines  and  quarried 
out  like  coal,  or 

(2)  as  Brine.    Water  strongly  impregnated  with  salt  is  found 
in  certain  districts,  for  example  at  Droitwich  in  Worcestershire, 
at  Nantwich  in  Cheshire.     It  is  pumped  up  from  the  earth,  run 
into  tanks,  where  it  is  exposed  to  bottom  furnace  heat,  the 
water  is  driven  off  by  evaporation  and  the  salt  left  behind 
formed  into  blocks. 

Salt  may  also  be  obtained  from  the  sea.     By  boiling  down 


CHAP.  XI.]  Foods.  261 

and  crystallizing  the  solution,  salt  may  be  obtained  of  various 
degrees  of  fineness. 

Baking  Powder.  Though  not  in  any  way  a  food  it  is 
convenient  to  add  Baking  Powder  to  the  list  of  Food  adjuncts, 
as  it  plays  an  important  part  in  the  preparation  of  many  dishes. 
It  is  composed  of  an  acid  and  an  alkali,  with  the  addition  of 
rice  flour,  ground  rice  or  arrowroot  to  give  it  bulk,  to  absorb 
any  moisture  there  may  be  about  and  to  keep  the  mixture  from 
getting  lumpy.  The  alkali  generally  used  is  bi-carbonate  of 
soda,  made  by  passing  carbonic  acid  gas  through  a  solution  of 
the  ordinary  carbonate,  washing  soda,  thus  : — 

Carbonate  of  soda  and  |  form  ^,carbonate  of  soda  because 
Carbonic    ac,d     in    the     (he  bicarbonate  is  NaHCOv 
presence  of  water  J 

Carbonate  of  soda  is  sometimes  used  alone  in  place  of  other 
baking  powders,  it  always  needs  the  presence  of  some  acid, 
sour  milk  or  lemon,  to  avoid  a  flat,  soapy  taste. 

Tartaric  acid  or  Cream  of  tartar,  the  former  in  powder,  are 
the  acids  usually  mixed  with  bi-carbonate  of  soda. 

Tartaric  acid  crystals  are  prepared  from  the  fermented  mass 
of  grapes  crushed  in  the  process  of  wine  making;  Cream  of 
tartar  crystallizes  on  the  sides  of  the  wine  casks. 

Cream  of  tartar  is  best  for  making  baking  powder,  as  it- 
does  not  part  readily  with  its  gas  until  it  is  heated. 

Baking  powder  should  be  kept  in  dry  tins  and  stored  in  a 
dry  place.  When  the  acid  and  the  alkali  are  moistened  effer- 
vescence takes  place  and  carbonic  acid  gas  is  given  off,  this  in 
trying  to  escape  raises  the  cake  mixture  or  pastry  to  which  it 
has  been  added. 

Recipes  for  Baking  Powder  : 

I.  Tartaric  acid           3  ozs.  II.   Cream  of  tartar      4  ozs. 

Bi-carbonate  soda  4  ozs.  Bi-carbonate  soda  2  ozs. 

Ground  rice            4  ozs.  •  Ground  rice            6  ozs. 


262  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

The  materials  should  be  very  dry  and  thoroughly  mixed; 
to  avoid  all  lumps  they  may  be  pounded  in  a  mortar  or  put 
through  a  sieve.  In  using  baking  powder  the  proportions  are  : 

For  plain  pastry  and  rich  cakes  i  teaspoonful  to  i  Ib.  flour. 

For  plain  cakes,  scones,  etc.       2  teaspoonsful  to  i  Ib.  flour. 


BEVERAGES. 

§  91.  Beverages  belong  to  the  group  known  as  Food 
Adjuncts  and  they  may  be  roughly  divided  into  alcoholic 
and  non-alcoholic. 

Several  contain  Nitrogenous  substances  called  Alkaloids •, 
which  act  powerfully  on  the  nervous  system. 

The  most  common  non-alcoholic  beverages  are  Tea,  Coffee, 
Cocoa. 

Tea.  Tea  is  the  dried  leaves  of  a  shrub  grown  in  China, 
India  and  Ceylon.  Its  value  depends  chiefly  on  the  age  of  the 
leaves  and  the  soil  in  which  the  plant  is  grown.  When  the 
shrub  is  three  years  old  the  young  leaves  at  the  top  which 
make  the  best  tea  are  picked  first;  there  are  three  other 
pickings  during  the  season  with  about  a  month  between  each, 
but  the  first  is  the  best.  Teas  may  be  divided  into  green  and 
black  teas ;  the  former  owes  its  colour  to  being  dried  quickly 
when  fresh,  while  the  black  tea  is  prepared  from  the  same 
leaves  allowed  to  lie  in  heaps  for  about  twelve  hours,  after 
which  time  they  are  slowly  dried  over  charcoal  fires.  The 
name  given  to  tea  prepared  from  the  top  leaves  of  the  shrub  is 
Orange  Pekoe,  the  lower  leaves  are  known  as  Souchong  and 
Congou.  The  alkaloid  to  which  tea  owes  its  stimulating  pro- 
perties is  known  as  Theine\  it  acts  upon  the  central  nervous 
system  and  promotes  the  action  of  the  skin,  but  like  all  other 
stimulants  should  be  indulged  in  in  moderation.  Besides 
Theiiie,  tea  contains  Tannin,  an  astringent.  Tannin  acts  on  the 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  263 

digestive  juices,  retarding  their  action,  thus  physiologically  a 
"  Meat  Tea  "  is  a  mistake. 

In  making  tea  care  should  be  taken  to  reduce  the  quantity 
of  Tannin  to  a  minimum.  The  quality  of  the  tea,  and  of  the 
water  used  for  making  the  infusion  are  in  this  respect  most 
important.  The  teapot  should  be  heated  before  the  tea  is  put 
in  and  the  water  should  be  freshly  boiled.  If  very  hard  it  may 
be  softened  by  the  addition  of  a  pinch  of  carbonate  of  soda. 
Tea  should  never  be  allowed  to  stand  more  than  3 — 4  minutes, 
but  the  infusion  may  be  poured  into  another  previously  heated 
teapot.  The  common  practice  among  the  working  class  of 
allowing  the  teapot  to  stew  on  the  hob  or  in  the  oven  cannot 
be  too  strongly  deprecated. 

Coffee.  Coffee  is  made  from  the  seed  of  a  shrub,  native 
of  Abyssinia.  Large  quantities  come  from  Ceylon,  Java,  the 
West  Indies,  etc. 

The  fruit  of  the  coffee  tree  contains  two  seeds,  which  when 
removed  are  roasted  and  the  moisture  driven  off.  This  opera- 
tion should  be  postponed  until  the  coffee  is  actually  required, 
as  the  oil  which  is  developed  by  the  roasting  process  and  which 
gives  coffee  its  fragrant  aroma,  is  very  volatile  and  speedily 
escapes.  The  alkaloid  is  known  as  Caffeine  and  its  effects 
are  the  same  as  those  of  Theine. 

Coffee  is  frequently  adulterated  with  Chicory,  especially  the 
kind  sold  under  the  name  of  "  French  Coffee."  It  is  quite 
harmless  and  the  flavour  mixed  with  the  coffee  is  preferred  by 
many  people.  It  may  be  easily  detected,  as  pure  coffee  grounds 
float  on  water,  while  chicory  rapidly  sinks  to  the  bottom. 

To  ensure  good  coffee,  the  beans  should  be  freshly  roasted 
and  ground  before  use  and  sufficient  coffee  allowed,  about  one 
ounce  to  each  large  cup.  To  obtain  strong  coffee,  place  the 
grounds  in  a  saucepan  over  a  fire  until  thoroughly  hot,  when 
boiling  water  should  be  poured  over  them,  half-a-pint  to  the  oz. 
and  the  mixture  allowed  to  infuse  .for  5  to  10  minutes  before 


264  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

being  strained.     Coffee  is  not  a  food,  but  when  made  with 
boiling  milk  its  food  value  is  considerable. 

Cocoa.  Cocoa  is  prepared  from  a  tree  found  in  Brazil, 
the  West  Indies  and  Ceylon.  The  cocoa  beans,  which  some- 
what resemble  thick  almonds,  are  carefully  roasted  in  revolving 
cylinders  over  coke  fires.  The  crushed  beans  are  known  as 
nibs;  when  rolled  they  form  flake  cocoa. 

It  is  not  only  a  beverage,  but  ranks  as  an  important  food 
stuff,  containing  fat,  starch,  nitrogenous  matters,  besides  cellu- 
lose, water,  and  an  alkaloid  called  Theobromine.  The  action 
of  the  latter  is  less  stimulating  than  that  of  tea  or  coffee. 
Preparations  of  cocoa,  especially  those  that  thicken  in  the  cup 
on  the  addition  of  liquid,  are  mixed  with  starch  and  sugar. 
Cocoa  husks  boiled  long  and  gently  will  yield  a  thin  refreshing 
beverage  at  a  very  small  cost. 

Kola  nuts  contain  Theine  and  have  the  power  of  taking 
away  the  feeling  of  fatigue.  Mixed  with  cocoa  they  are  con- 
sidered most  nutritious. 

Chocolate  is  a  preparation  of  cocoa  and  sugar  flavoured 
with  vanilla ;  the  cocoa  is  crushed  under  heated  rollers  and  the 
paste  thus  formed  is  pressed  into  moulds. 

Aerated  Waters.  This  class  of  non-alcoholic  beverages 
may  be  divided  into  natural  mineral  waters,  such  as  Vichy, 
Ems,  etc.,  and  those  manufactured  from  ordinary  drinking 
water  by  being  charged  with  carbonic  acid  and  other  gases. 

The  best  known  among  the  latter  are  Soda  Water,  Potash 
and  Seltzers.  The  materials  used  are  baking-soda,  tartaric 
acid,  carbonate  of  potash,  etc. 

Ordinary  soda  water  is  generally  plain  water  from  which 
the  air  has  been  expelled,  charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas. 

The  chief  source  of  danger  is  from  the  employment  of 
impure  water ;  unfortunately  carbonic  acid  gas  under  pressure 
is  not  fatal  to  micro-organisms. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  265 

Alcoholic  Beverages. 

Alcoholic  beverages  may  be  divided  into  two  classes : 
Fermented  Liquors.     Ale,  beer,  porter.     Wines. 
Distilled  Spirits.     Gin,  brandy,  rum,  whisky. 

These  beverages  are  called  fermented  liquors  because  the 
alcohol  in  them  is  due  to  a  process  called  fermentation,  set  up 
in  the  sugars  extracted  from  fruits,  etc.,  or  in  the  sugars 
prepared  by  art  from  potatoes,  cereals,  grains,  and  starches 
generally. 

In  the  process  of  fermentation  the  sugar  is  split  up  into 
alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas,  the  former  remains  in  the 
liquid,  the  latter  escapes  as  a  gas.  The  change  is  brought 
about  by  the  action  of  yeast,  a  one-cell  plant,  a  microscopic 
fungus  of  the  simplest  possible  structure,  which  feeds  on  sugar 
and  breaks  it  up,  converting  it  into  alcohol.  The  necessary 
conditions  for  fermentation  are  warmth,  moisture,  and  sweet- 
ness. Starch,  such  as  we  find  in  barley,  when  moistened  and 
warmed  encourages  germination,  and  this  develops  the  diastase, 
a  ferment  dormant  in  the  grain,  which  acts  on  the  surrounding 
starch,  converting  it  into  a  species  of  sugar  known  as  maltose. 

There  are  two  distinct  chemical  processes  in  the  manu- 
facture of  fermented  drinks ;  first  the  change  of  starch  into 
sugar,  secondly  the  change  of  sugar  into  alcohol  and  carbonic 
acid  gas. 

Alcohol  consists  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  and 
burns  without  residue,  forming  carbonic  acid  gas  and  water. 
It  boils  at  a  temperature  of  about  180°  Fahrenheit,  an  im- 
portant item  to  remember  in  using  wine  for  cooking  purposes, 
for,  if  added  early  in  the  process,  the  alcohol  will  evaporate 
with  the  heat. 

Proof  spirit  is  roughly,  half  alcohol  and  half  water,  weaker 
or  stronger  spirits  than  this  are  known  as  under  or  over  proof. 
Pure  alcohol  is  lighter  than  water  and  has  never  been  frozen. 
It  has  a  great  affinity  for  water  and  is  used  for  preserving 


266  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  n. 

animal  substances.  When  added  to  the  raw  white  of  egg,  it 
coagulates  the  albumen,  rendering  it  stringy  and  solid.  It 
acts  as  a  poison  when  swallowed,  causing  violent  irritation  of 
the  stomach  and,  in  extreme  cases,  paralysis  of  the  brain. 
Compared  with  coffee,  the  stimulus  supplied  by  alcohol  is 
transitory  and  supplies  no  real  energy.  It  lowers  the  temper- 
ature of  the  body  by  quickening  the  heart-beat  and  filling  the 
surface  capillaries  with  blood,  giving  a  momentary  sensation  of 
heat,  which  is  immediately  lost  by  radiation. 

Beer  is  a  fermented  infusion  of  malt  flavoured  with  hops, 
or  a  saccharine  decoction  with  the  addition  of  some  bitter. 
In  making  beer,  barley  is  converted  into  sugar  by  the  process 
of  malting,  and  this  saccharine  solution  is  converted  into 
alcohol  by  fermentation. 

For  malting,  the  barley  is  soaked  in  water,  in  order  to  make 
it  sprout  or  germinate;  the  grains  are  then  spread  out  on  a 
floor  and  exposed  to  gentle  heat ;  the  two  conditions  of  growth 
are  here  supplied,  moisture  and  warmth.  In  a  short  time, 
about  14  days,  the  starch  contained  in  the  grain  is  converted 
by  the  action  of  the  diastase  or  ferment  into  a  species  of  sugar, 
known  as  maltose.  The  process  is  stopped  by  exposing  the 
malt  to  greater  heat,  and  the  colouring  of  the  various  ales 
depends  greatly  on  the  degree  of  roasting  to  which  the  sprout- 
ing barley  is  subjected.  In  the  next  process  the  malt  is  sifted 
or  screened  to  remove  the  sproutings,  dirt,  stones,  etc.,  before 
being  crushed  between  iron  rollers.  The  next  stage  is  called 
mashing.  The  malt  is  put  into  a  tub  with  a  moveable  false 
bottom  full  of  holes,  which  allows  the  water  to  drain  through, 
hot  water  is  poured  on  and  the  mixture  is  occasionally  stirred 
to  enable  it  to  extract  all  the  sugar  from  the  barley.  This 
"  sweet  wort "  is  then  boiled  in  coppers  with  hops  to  give  it  a 
bitter  taste,  yeast  is  next  added  and  the  liquor  is  left  to 
"work."  Carbonic  acid  gas  and  alcohol  are  formed;  some  of 
the  former  escapes,  the  rest  remains  in  the  beer  and  gives  it 


CHAP.  XI.]  Foods.  267 

the  sparkling  taste.  The  quantity  of  yeast  added  and  the 
temperature  at  which  fermentation  takes  place  vary  with 
different  kinds  of  beer.  Pale  and  mild  ales  are  made  from 
the  finest  dried  malt  and  best  hops  :  porter  and  stout  are 
beers  in  which  the  colour  is  produced  by  the  roasting  of  the 
malt.  German  beers  are  fermented  at  a  lower  temperature, 
they  contain  less  alcohol  than  English  beers,  but  are  richer  in 
carbonic  acid  gas. 

Malt  extract          Alcohol        Carbonic  Acid  Water 

Porter  6'o  5*4  *i6  88*44 

Ale  14-5  5-9  79-6 

Munich  Beer    9*2  4*2  '17  86*49. 

Wines.  The  term  wine  is  generally  limited  to  the  liquor 
prepared  from  the  juice  of  the  grape.  In  England  and  in 
some  part  of  the  Continent  there  is  apple-wine  or  cider  pro- 
duced from  apples,  pear-wine  or  perry  made  from  pears. 

When  the  sugary  juice  of  the  grape  is  left  to  itself  at  a 
moderate  temperature,  fermentation  takes  place,  the  sugar  is 
converted  into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas  is  formed.  New 
wines  contain  aldehyd  (alcohol  dehydrogenated,  deprived  of 
the  hydrogen  required  to  form  water),  which  later  on  gets 
oxidized  into  acetic  acid  and,  if  exposed  long  enough  to  the 
air,  is  converted  into  ordinary  wine  vinegar. 

The  colour,  taste,  and  character  of  wines  depend  to  a 
great  extent  on  how  far  they  are  made  from  grape  juice  only. 
Different  kinds  of  grapes  yield  different  kinds  of  wine,  and 
much  depends  on  the  soil,  the  season,  and  the  climate,  in 
which  the  vine  is  grown  and  ripened.  By  a  dry  wine  is  meant 
one  of  a  flavour  which  is  not  sweetness ;  it  may  be  produced 
by  juice  from  a  poor  grape  or  be  made  "  dry  "  artificially. 

The  nutritive  value  of  wines  is  small  and  they  owe  their 
stimulating  properties  to  the  presence  of  alcohol.  Clarets  and 
light  wines  are  anti-scorbutics  on  account  of  the  acids  they 
contain.  Sparkling  wines  are  bottled  during  the  process  of 
fermentation,  when  carbonic  acid  gas*  is  being  given  off.  They 


268  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

may  also  be  made  by  forcing  in  carbonic  acid  gas  under 
pressure. 

Clarets  are  French  red  wines  from  the  South  of  France, 
they  are  less  acid  than  other  French  wines.  Burgundy  is 
made  from  black  or  white  grapes  grown  in  the  central  district 
of  France,  it  contains  more  saccharine  matters  than  claret. 
Champagne  is  made  from  white  grapes ;  the  wine  undergoes  a 
second  fermentation  in  bottle  and  is  stored  in  very  cold  cellars. 
Sherry  is  a  Spanish  wine,  its  value  depends  on  its  age.  Mar- 
sala is  made  in  Sicily.  Ports  are  grown  in  Spain  and  take 
their  name  from  the  town  of  Oporto. 

Spirits  are  obtained  by  the  distillation  of  alcoholic  liquors ; 
they  include  brandy,  whisky,  rum,  and  gin.  The  fermented 
liquor  is  boiled,  and  alcohol  having  a  lower  boiling-point  than 
water  and  being  more  volatile  comes  off  first.  It  is  passed 
into  a  long  pipe  surrounded  outside  by  cold  water,  which 
condenses  the  vapour  into  a  liquid  form  again.  To  get  rid  of 
the  remaining  water  it  must  be  re-distilled.  Brandy  is  made 
from  the  distillation  of  wine,  it  darkens  with  age,  but  is 
generally  artificially  coloured  by  the  addition  of  caramel  or 
burnt  sugar.  Whisky  is  prepared  from  malted  grain;  inferior 
kinds  are  prepared  from  barley,  rye,  or  mashed  potatoes, 
roughly  distilled  and  burnt  to  give  them  a  smoky  flavour. 
Rum  is  obtained  from  molasses  by  distillation.  It  is  chiefly 
made  in  Jamaica,  and  is  often  flavoured  with  slices  of  pine- 
apple. Gin  is  manufactured  from  a  mixture  of  malt  and 
barley  flavoured  with  juniper  berries.  It  is  sold  sweetened 
and  unsweetened  ;  "  Hollands  "  is  a  Dutch  spirit. 

Liqueurs  are  spirituous  drinks  artificially  formed  and 
flavoured  with  vegetable  essences.  The  best  known  are : 
absinthe,  a  greenish  liquid  with  an  essential  flavouring  of  oil 
of  wormwood,  much  used  in  France,  where  it  takes  the  place 
of  the  gin  sold  in  England ;  noyau,  flavoured  with  bitter 
almonds ;  ratafia,  with  black  currants.  Chartreuse  contains 
essential  oil  of  angelica  and  a  peculiar  form  of  turpentine. 


CHAP.   XI.]  Foods.  269 

PROCESSES   OF   COOKERY. 
I.     Roasting. 

§  92.  Roasting  is  the  method  of  cooking  most  commonly 
used  in  England  and  is  effected  by  radiant  heat.  For  roasting 
in  front  of  the  fire  a  "Jack"  is  required,  which  being  wound 
up,  causes  the  joint  to  revolve  slowly  before  a  bright  clear  fire. 

The  meat  should  first  be  wiped  with  a  damp  cloth  and 
weighed. 

Allow  I  hour  to  the  Ib.  and  J  hour  over  for  small  joints, 
and  20  minutes  to  the  Ib.  and  20  minutes  over  for  large  pieces 
of  beef,  mutton,  veal,  lamb  and  pork.  For  the  latter  it  is 
usual  to  give  25  minutes  as  it  is  very  unwholesome  if  at  all 
underdone. 

Sometimes  meat  is  floured  before  roasting ;  but  this  is 
entirely  a  matter  of  choice. 

The  joint  should  be  placed  close  to  the  fire  for  the  first  ten 
minutes  to  harden  the  proteids,  which  form  a  case  to  retain  the 
juices  of  the  meat. 

The  heat  should  then  be  lessened  and  the  actual  cooking 
carried  on  more  slowly. 

It  is  necessary  to  baste  the  joint  every  10  minutes,  i.e.  the 
melted  fat  which  has  run  from  the  meat  should  be  poured  over 
the  surface  to  prevent  it  from  becoming  dry  or  from  burning. 

Rabbits  and  poultry,  which  have  no  fat,  should  have  a  slice 
of  fat  bacon  laid  over  them,  and  sometimes  even  require  to  be 
protected  by  a  piece  of  buttered  paper,  which  is  removed 
during  the  last  J  hour. 

Principle.  The  coagulation  of  Proteids,  familiar  to  us  in 
the  poaching  of  an  egg,  takes  place  at  a  temperature  of  160° 
Fahrenheit;  therefore  overheating  is  a  waste  and  tends  to 
destroy  the  nutritive  value  of  the  fpod. 


270  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Baking.  Meat  is  sometimes  baked  in  a  well-ventilated 
oven,  instead  of  being  roasted  in  front  of  the  fire. 

This  is  a  less  wholesome  method,  as  the  air  in  the  latter 
process  develops  certain  flavours  which  render  the  joint  more 
appetizing. 

For  baking,  a  special  double  tin  should  be  used ;  the  lower 
one  is  filled  with  water  which  prevents  the  dripping  from 
burning. 

The  meat  should  be  placed  on  bars,  resembling  part  of  a 
gridiron,  in  the  upper  tin  to  avoid  getting  sodden  in  the  melted 
fat. 

Neither  roasting  nor  baking  is  an  economical  method  of 
Cookery  because : 

1.  The  best  joints  must  be  used. 

2.  A  bright  clear  fire  should  be  kept  up. 

3.  Considerable  loss  in  weight,  about  5  ozs.  in  the  lb., 
takes  place,  from  the  melting  of  the  fat  and  the  evaporation  of 
water. 


II.     Boiling. 

§  93.  Boiling  is  cooking  by  immersion  in  water  at  a  tem- 
perature of  212°  Fahrenheit. 

When  water  is  heated,  the  air  in  the  water  and  the  steam 
shoot  up  in  the  form  of  bubbles. 

These  break  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  and  the  rising 
steam  in  the  bubbles  is  turned  again  to  water  (condensed). 

As  the  whole  of  the  water  becomes  hotter,  these  bubbles 
rise  higher  and  at  last  break  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

In  this  process  of  Cooking  the  principle  on  which  the  heat 
should  be  applied  is  exactly  the  same  as  in  baking  and 
roasting.  The  temperature  should  be  high  to  begin  with — 
212°  Fahrenheit — to  be  succeeded  by  a  lower  one,  185° 
Fahrenheit,  simmering  point.  If  the  water  be  allowed  to  boil 


CHAP.  XI.]  Foods.  271 

the  whole  time,  the  proteids  in  the  meat  will  harden  and 
render  it  tough  and  tasteless. 

To  ascertain  that  the  water  is  at  the  right  temperature, 
notice  whether  the  surface  of  the  liquid  bubbles  only  at  one 
point,  near  the  edges. 

With  a  still  surface  there  is  too  little  heat,  with  a  bubbling 
one  too  much. 

Fresh  meat  should  be  wiped  and  weighed  before  cooking, 
and  20  minutes  to  the  Ib.  and  20  minutes  over  allowed. 

Salt  meat  should  be  put  into  cold  or  lukewarm  water,  and 
gradually  brought  to  the  boil  to  draw  out  some  of  the  salt. 

Salt  increases  the  density  of  water  and  raises  boiling  point 
to  224°  Fahrenheit. 

Boiling  is  only  suitable  for  the  best  joints ;  about  4  ozs.  in 
the  Ib.  are  lost  during  the  process. 

The  water  in  which  fresh  meat  has  been  cooked  should  be 
kept,  as  it  contains  a  certain  amount  of  goodness  from  the 
meat.  It  is  usually  called  "  Pot  Liquor  "  and  forms  a  valuable 
basis  for  soups  and  gravies. 

Steaming  is  cooking  in  the  steam  or  vapour  arising  from 
boiling  water. 

In  steaming  the  bubbles  break  beneath  the  surface  and  the 
steam  is  turned  to  water  again  at  a  temperature  of  about 
185°  Fahrenheit. 

This  is  an  economical  and  digestible  method  of  preparing 
food,  as  none  of  the  goodness  is  lost,  and  is  especially  useful  in 
cooking  Fish  and  Puddings. 

Longer  time  must  be  allowed  than  for  boiling. 

A  kettle  of  boiling  water  should  always  be  at  hand  to 
replenish  the  water  if  an  ordinary  Fish  Kettle  or  Steamer  be 
used. 

Steamers  are  now  constructed  in  separate  compartments, 
one  above  the  other,  so  that  several  courses  can  be  prepared  at 
once. 


272  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

III.  Stewing. 

§  94.  Stewing  is  cooking  meat  very  gently  in  a  covered 
pan  with  a  little  liquid. 

In  stewing  the  object  is  not  to  shut  in  the  juices  of  the 
meat,  but  to  extract  them  that  they  may  flavour  the  gravy  and 
vegetables  of  which  the  stew  is  largely  composed. 

Stewing  may  be  carried  on  in  an  ordinary  iron  stew-pan,  in 
a  double  pan  known  as  a  bain-marie,  or  simply  in  a  covered 
earthenware  jar.  A  bain-marie  may  be  readily  improvised  by 
standing  a  jar  in  a  saucepan  of  water. 

Stewing  is  the  most  economical  way  of  cooking,  as  the 
cheaper  parts  of  meat  may  be  used,  but  little  fire  is  needed, 
and  all  the  juices  are  either  in  the  meat  or  in  the  gravy. 

Vegetables  or  dumplings  may  be  added,  which  render  the 
stew  more  tasty  and  satisfying. 

There  are  two  classes  of  stews  : 

1.  That  in  which  a  gravy  or  sauce  is   first  made   by 
frying  vegetables  and  flour  in  hot  fat  and  adding  liquid  before 
putting  in  the  meat. 

Example.     Exeter  Stew. 

2.  That  in  which  the  meat  and  vegetables  are  cooked 
together  with  the  addition  of  stock  or  water,  forming  their  own 
gravy. 

Example.     Irish  Stew. 

In  stewing  the  proteids  are  gently  set,  the  juices  are  partly 
extracted  and  the  fibres  of  the  meat  are  softened. 

IV.  Frying. 

§  95.  Frying  is  cooking  in  hot  fat  at  a  temperature  of 
380°  Fahrenheit. 

This  temperature  is  of  great  importance  and  varies  within 
certain  limits  according  to  the  nature  of  the  food  to  be  cooked ; 
such  things  as  whitebait  and  chipped  potatoes  requiring  a 
temperature  of  400°  Fahrenheit. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  273 

There  is  very  little  difficulty  in  recognising  the  heat  re- 
quired for  ordinary  frying  purposes. 

The  surface  of  the  fat  should  be  smooth  and  still,  bubbling 
denotes  the  presence  of  water,  and  until  this  has  been  driven 
off  the  fat  will  not  be  ready. 

Then  a  faint  blue  smoke  should  arise  all  over  the  pan,  and 
this  denotes  that  the  temperature  of  380°  Fahrenheit  has  been 
approximately  attained. 

Another  method  is  to  throw  in  a  piece  of  dry  bread,  if  it 
crisps  and  browns  the  fat  is  ready  for  use. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  frying  : 

1.  Dry  Frying.     When    only    enough   fat   is   used   to 
cover  the  bottom  of  a  shallow  pan  and  to  prevent  sticking ; 
it  is  used  for  pancakes,  sausages  etc. 

2.  Wet  Frying.     When  the  saucepan  is  half  full  of  fat. 
For  this  a  stew-pan  4 — 5  inches  high  and  7 — 8  inches  across  is 
required,  into  which  a  frying  basket  should  fit. 

The  best  frying  mediums  are  olive-oil,  dripping,  butter, 
lard,  albene. 

The  stew-pan  should  be  two-thirds  full  and  about  3  Ibs.  will 
be  required  for  one  8  inches  in  diameter. 

The  fat,  if  properly  treated,  can  be  used  over  and  over 
again ;  it  should  be  left  to  cool  a  little  after  use,  then  carefully 
strained  and  put  aside.  From  time  to  time  this  fat  may  be 
clarified. 

Frying  in  deep  fat  is  not  an  extravagant  process  :  pieces  of 
fat  from  the  meat  can  be  kept,  rendered  down  and  used  for 
this  purpose. 

The  preparation  for  frying  is  very  various. 

The  food  may  be  lightly  floured,  dipped  in  batter  or  rolled 
in  egg  and  bread-crumbs. 

When  things  are  fried  in  a  basket  and  in  deep  fat,  lift  out 
the  basket  and  let  them  drain,  and  then  remove  them  as 
quickly  as  possible  and  lay  them  on.  crumpled  kitchen  paper. 

B.  18 


274  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

If  this  part  of  the  process  is  neglected  the  food  will  look  and 
taste  greasy. 

In  frying  bacon,  the  pan  should  be  heated  before  the 
rashers  are  put  in. 

A  frying-pan  should  never  be  washed,  but  wiped  out 
carefully  with  pieces  of  soft  paper. 


§  96.  Broiling  or  Grilling.  Broiling  resembles  Roasting 
and  is  cooking  by  radiant  heat ;  it  is  only  used  for  small 
pieces  of  meat,  such  as  chops  and  steaks. 

The  fire  should  be  bright  and  clear,  without  smoke  or 
flame.  ^ 

One  method  is  to  hang  a  gridiron  in  front  of  the  fire ;  but 
the  result  is  not  the  same  as  when  the  gridiron  is  placed  about 
four  inches  above  a  bed  of  glowing  coals. 

The  gridiron  should  be  heated,  then  slightly  greased,  the 
meat  is  held  close  to  the  fire  for  two  minutes,  then  turned 
between  the  blades  of  two  knives  and  the  other  side  exposed  to 
the  heat  for  two  minutes,  it  should  then  be  turned  every  two 
minutes  until  cooked.  It  takes  from  10  to  15  minutes,  but 
depends  greatly  on  the  thickness  of  the  chop  or  steak,  and 
whether  it  is  required  well  or  underdone. 

Braising  is  partly  stewing,  partly  roasting.  It  is  a  suitable 
way  of  cooking  small  pieces  of  meat  and  tasteless  joints  of 
veal. 

Special  braizing  pans  are  constructed  with  a  sunk  lid  to 
hold  hot  charcoal  so  that  both  bottom  and  top  heat  may  be 
applied ;  but  an  ordinary  stew-pan  will  answer  the  purpose. 

The  meat  to  be  braized  should  be  placed  on  a  bed  of 
vegetables  (carrot,  turnip,  onion,  celery,  bouquet  garni)  with 
enough  stock  to  nearly  cover  the  vegetables ;  the  lid  should  fit 
the  pan  closely  and  be  shut  in  over  a  sheet  of  buttered  paper. 
The  whole  should  simmer  gently  for  about  two  to  three  hours 
the  meat  being  occasionally  basted  with  a  little  of  the  gravy. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  275 

When  the  meat  is  done,  take  it  out  and  place  in  a  baking 
tin,  brush  over  with  a  little  butter,  or  glaze  and  let  it  brown  in 
the  oven. 

Braised  meat  is  generally  larded  with  strips  of  fat  bacon. 

Re-Heating  Cold  Meat.  Meat  warmed  up  is  more  nourish- 
ing and  digestible  than  cold  meat,  and  can  also  be  made  to  go 
much  further. 

Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  its  preparation,  and  it 
is  necessary  to  remember  that  the  meat  has  already  been 
cooked. 

Underdone  meat  is  more  readily  and  tastily  re-heated  than 
dry,  over-cooked  pieces. 

The  gravies  and  sauces  used  in  the  concoction  of  the 
dishes  must  be  thoroughly  cooked  and  well-flavoured. 

They  should  be  carefully  prepared  and  the  meat  only 
heated  through,  never  allowed  to  boil. 

While  re-heating,  meat  should  be  protected  from  the  direct 
action  of  the  fire,  and  this  can  be  accomplished  by  covering  it 
with  a  sauce, — egg  and  bread-crumbs,  batter,  or  with  pastry  or 
potato  crust. 


§  97.  Stock  Making.  Stock,  which  is  the  foundation  of 
all  soups  in  which  meat  is  used,  is  an  infusion  obtained  by 
simmering  meat,  bones  and  vegetables  in  water. 

The  object  is  to  soften  the  fibres  of  the  meat  and  extract 
all  the  goodness  of  the  bones  by  gradual  cooking. 

In  preparing  Stock,  the  bones  should  be  broken  up  and 
the  meat  cut  into  small  pieces  and  the  whole  placed  in  a 
pan,  covered  with  cold  water  and  brought  gradually  to  the 
boil. 

Vegetables  and  herbs  may  then  be  added  and  the  whole 
simmered  for  four  hours,  carefully  skimming  from  time  to 
time. 

1 8— 2 


276  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

The  Stock  should  then  be  strained  and  left  till  cold  when 
the  fat  can  be  easily  removed. 

The  bones  can  be  used  again  with  fresh  vegetables  until 
they  present  a  porous  appearance,  which  denotes  that  the 
goodness  has  all  been  extracted. 

In  hot  weather  turnips  should  be  avoided  in  Stock  making, 
as  they  are  apt  to  turn  it  sour. 

Stock  should  never  be  left  to  get  cold  in  the  Stock -pot,  but 
emptied  into  a  basin  and  the  pot  carefully  cleaned  and  dried. 

There  are  four  classes  of  Stock  : 

1.  Brown  Stock,  made  from  beef  and  mutton. 

2.  White  Stock,   made  from  the   bones   of    chickens, 
rabbits,  veal. 

3.  Fish  Stock,  prepared  from  the  bones  and  trimmings 
of  fish. 

4.  Game  Stock,  made  from  the  carcases  and  bones  of 
any  kind  of  game. 

In  all  kinds  of  cooking  stock  is  a  necessity,  and  a  supply 
should  always  be  at  hand. 

The  cost  depends  on  the  management  of  the  person  in 
charge  of  the  kitchen;  a  good  manager  will  always  keep  the 
stock-pot  going  and  there  are  certain  things  which  should 
always  be  set  aside  for  this  purpose. 

Bones  of  meat,  poultry  or  game,  cooked  or  raw  trimmings 
of  raw  or  cooked  meat,  feet  of  sheep  and  lambs,  necks,  gizzards 
and  feet  of  game  and  poultry,  rind  and  trimmings  of  tongue 
and  ham,  water  in  which  fresh  joints  or  fowls  have  been  boiled, 
known  as  "  pot  liquor." 

Soup  is  a  light,  nourishing,  economical  form  of  food,  easy 
of  digestion  and  may  be  prepared  from  vegetables,  milk,  etc., 
without  Meat  Stock. 

Beef  Tea  is  not  a  soup  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word, 
but  it  may  be  reckoned  in  the  preparation  of  Stock. 


CHAP.  XL]  Foods.  277 

It  is  generally  known  as  an  extractive  and  is  no  longer 
regarded  as  a  food ;  it  acts  as  a  stimulant  and  lessens  the  waste 
of  tissue. 

Beef  Tea  in  the  form  of  jelly  is  a  no  stronger  nutrient  than 
that  given  in  the  liquid  form. 

The  stiffening  or  "setting"  power  is  due  to  gelatine,  a 
nitrogenous  substance  obtained  through  the  slow  boiling  of 
bones,  muscle,  skin  of  animals  or  fish. 

Isinglass,  considered  the  purest  form  of  gelatine,  is  obtained 
from  the  floating  bladder  of  the  sturgeon. 

Although  gelatine  is  classed  as  a  nitrogenous  product,  it 
should  not  be  looked  upon  as  a  Food.  It  prevents  waste  of 
tissue  and  contributes  to  nutrition  when  mixed  with  a  due 
proportion  of  other  products,  such  as  milk,  cream,  etc. 

In  preparing  Beef  Tea  with  great  care,  as  much  as  6  °/0  of 
the  nutritive  value  of  the  meat  may  be  retained,  but  as  usually 
made,  it  hardly  contains  3  % ;  it  is  erroneous  to  look  on  meat 
extracts  as  foods,  they  should  be  regarded  as  tonics  and 
adjuncts  to  most  other  forms  of  nourishment. 


278 


CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy. 

§  98.  THE  teaching  of  Domestic  Economy  is  governed 
by  general  principles,  and  in  a  well  thought  out  lesson  on 
Cookery  or  Laundry  manual  dexterity  and  instruction  should 
go  hand  in  hand,  thus  supporting  and  helping  each  other. 

Both  the  Science  and  Art  of  Education  should  have  been 
thoroughly  studied  before  any  branch  of  teaching  is  taken 
up ;  it  is  only  proposed  here  to  present  a  few  notes  of  lessons 
and  blackboard  sketches,  as  a  practical  application  of  the 
Science  and  Art  of  Education  to  the  various  subjects  embraced 
under  the  title  of  Domestic  Economy. 

In  the  first  place  the  teacher  must  bear  in  mind  that,  in 
these  subjects  as  well  as  in  others,  he  must  not  "only  under- 
stand how  to  impart  knowledge  and  dexterity,  but  also  how 
to  impart  them  both  in  such  a  manner  that  they  may  make  for 
the  mental  development  of  the  pupil." 

Mind  and  body  are  closely  interdependent,  therefore  in 
the  arrangement  of  a  lesson  both  should  be  considered. 

The  three  special  points  to  be  impressed  are  : — 

1.  The  cultivation  of  observation. 

2.  The  cultivation  of  memory. 

3.  The  formation  of  new  ideas. 


CHAP.  XII.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        279 

The  subjects  and  methods  of  teaching  must  be  adapted  to 
the  stage  of  mental  development  reached  by  the  pupil,  nor 
should  physical  surroundings  be  forgotten.  The  intimate  as- 
sociation of  brain  and  mind  should  never  be  lost  sight  of,  nor 
the  fact  that  the  faculties  of  a  growing  body  increase  in  power 
day  by  day. 

It  should  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  order  to  give  a 
successful  lesson  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  pupils  should 
be  secured. 

Interest  is  "one  of  the  most  powerful  agents  which  the 
teacher  can  employ  to  stimulate  mental  activity  and  train  the 
attention." 

Inattention  in  a  class  is  often  the  fault  of  the  teacher, 
and  every  effort  should  be  made  to  remedy  the  defect. 

To  secure  this  object  the  teacher  must  himself  be  in- 
terested in  the  lesson,  be  ready  to  vary  it,  have  a  bright 
sympathetic  manner,  and  know  how  to  cultivate  and  develop 
the  faculties  of  the  children. 

Attention,  like  other  faculties,  can  only  be  attained  by 
exercise,  and  each  effort  tends  to  make  the  next  easier,  thus  the 
habit  is  gradually  established. 

The  two  methods  of  giving  a  lesson  are  : — 

I.      By.  telling — lecturing — instructing. 

II.  By  questioning — leading  the  class  to  enquire  and  dis- 
cover. 

I.  The  first  method  is  used  for  imparting  fresh  knowledge 
at  a  Demonstration  Class,  the  second  is  used  during  all  parts 
of  a  lesson. 

In  giving  fresh  information  at  a  Demonstration  Class,  it  is 
necessary  to  secure  the  interest  and  co-operation  of  the  pupils, 
and  the  following  ways  as  a  rule  are  found  most  successful  :— 

A.  By  illustration. 

B.  By  use  of  the  blackboard. 


280  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  II. 

A.  The   teaching   of   Domestic    Economy   affords   many 

facilities  for  Illustration. 

Illustration. 

1.  The  object  itself.    The  actual  material  can  be  shown. 
Example.     In  a  lesson  on  bread-making  to  children  in 

Standard  IV.  samples  of  the  various  cereals  may  be  shown,  the 
varieties  of  flour,  the  action  of  yeast,  etc. 

2.  Pictorial  Representation. 
Example.     A  picture  may  be  displayed. 

To  a  more  advanced  class  in  the  same  subject  diagrams 
of  starch-grains  may  be  used,  showing  their  varying  forms  in 
different  plants. 

3.  Description. 

Example.  A  verbal  picture  suitable  only  for  older 
children,  by  which  a  graphic  account  of  the  various  pro- 
cesses concerned  in  the  conversion  of  wheat  into  the  different 
kinds  of  flour  can  be  related. 

B.  The  use  of  the  Blackboard. 

This  is  a  very  important  part  of  a  lesson  and  should  never 
be  omitted. 

Blackboard.  •  ,         ,,,,,., 

A  blackboard  sketch  should  display  an  epi- 
tome of  the  lesson  given,  and  sum  up  in  a  short,  concise 
manner  the  various  points  emphasized. 

The  blackboard  appeals  to  the  eye;  by  it  a  teacher  can 
illustrate  a  lesson  with  drawings  and  enforce  the  meaning  of 
technical  terms,  etc.  It  is  absolutely  essential  to  a  lesson, 
and  where  not  provided,  a  piece  of  American  cloth  or  a  sheet 
of  brown  paper  will  make  effective  temporary  substitutes. 

II.     The  second  method,   Questioning,  falls  into  three 
parts : 

Questions.  .  _ 

A.     Experimental  Questions. 

These  are  used  at  the  beginning  of  a  lesson  to  find  out  if 
there  is  any  previous  knowledge. 


CHAP.  XII.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        281 

B.  Educative  Questions. 

These  are  used  throughout  a  lesson. 

They  should  be  framed  in  simple  language,  clear  and  to 
the  point,  and  be  so  constructed  as  not  to  require  "  Yes  "  or 
"  No  "  for  answer. 

Let  the  questions  be  arranged  in  a  definite  order,  and  let 
that  order  be  progressive. 

Start  with  the  first  fact,  and  let  the  questions  depend  one 
upon  the  other  like  stones  in  an  arch. 

C.  Examinative  or  Test  Questions. 

These  questions  are  used  towards  the  end  of  the  lesson 
for  the  purpose  of  recapitulation. 

They  test  the  thoroughness  of  the  teaching  and,  if  well 
directed,  have  the  advantage  of  impressing  the  lesson  upon 
the  minds  of  the  pupils  in  a  clear,  consecutive,  orderly  manner. 

No  lesson  can  be  efficiently  given  without  careful  prepara- 
tion :  the  amount  must  depend  on  the  skill  and 

Preparation. 

experience  of  the  teacher. 

Notes  of  lessons  should  be  drawn  'up,  and  the  key-note 
of  a  course  should  be  continuity. 

In  giving  a  course  in  Domestic  Economy  it        Lessons  °f 
is  possible  to  ground  each  lesson  on  a  preceding 
one.     A  few  well-directed  questions  at  the  beginning  of  a  fresh 
class  will  serve  to  stimulate  the  children's  memory  and  establish 
a  link  with  the  previous  lesson. 

Notes  of  lessons  are,  so  to  speak,  the  plan  of  campaign, 
which  the  teacher  settles  before  beginning  a  course  of  instruc- 
tion, so  that  there  may  be  no  failure  or  confusion. 

Notes  of  lessons  are  a  draft  of  the  lesson  in  which  all  the 
important  points,  whether  of  method  or  matter,  are  clearly 
marked. 

They  should,  however,  leave  the  teacher  free,  as  circum- 
stances may  arise  during  the  lesson  which  will  render  a  change 
necessary. 


282  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

While  actually  engaged  in  the  work,  a  better  way  of  de- 
veloping a  point  or  overcoming  a  difficulty  may  present  itself. 

Every  teacher  should  prepare  his  own  Notes ;  those  given 
here  are  only  to  indicate  lines  on  which  they  may  be  drawn 
up  and  developed. 

In  arranging  a  lesson  it  is  first  necessary  to  ascertain  if 
there  is  any  previous  knowledge ;  then  the  facts  should  be 
selected  and  arranged,  and  the  best  method  of  presenting 
them  to  the  children  considered. 

To  secure  a  good  lesson  the  teacher  will  do  well  to  re- 
hearse it  privately  and  try  and  find  out  how  the  facts  are 
likely  to  strike  his  hearers.  The  great  object  to  be  attained  is 
not  only  to  impart  fresh  information,  but  to  induce  the  class  to 
work  with  the  teacher. 

To  secure  this  co-operation  a  line  of  questioning  must  be 
thought  out. 

The  notes  should  indicate  the  mental  work  the  teacher 
wants  the  children  to  do,  and  what  definite  information  they 
are  likely  to  derive  from  the  lesson. 

The  success  of  a  class  depends  greatly  upon  the  arrange- 
ciass  Man-  ments  made  for  carrying  out  the  work  and  for 
agement.  the  proper  exercise  of  discipline  and  control. 

The  room  set  aside  for  the  teaching  of  Domestic  Economy 
subjects  should  be  carefully  planned.  Where 
only  a  class-room  is  available,  a  little  manage- 
ment will  enable  the  lesson  to  be  given  satisfactorily. 

The  Education  Code  provides  that  a  Cookery  Class-room 
should  contain  at  least  600  superficial  feet  and 

84°°  cubic  feet>  and  that  il:  should  be  so  placed 
that  smells  from  it  cannot  pervade  other  rooms. 

See  Schedule  vn.  17. 

The  question  of  the  range  is  frequently  discussed,  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  one  in  general 
use  in  the  neighbourhood  should  be  the  one 

selected. 


CHAP.  XII.]  The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy. 


283 


ENTRANCE 


SLATE  SLAB                    DRESSER 

a 

-V.                                           SCULLERY 

1          ^ 

^|  SINK 

WINDOW 
24  feet 

OOKERY  CLAS 

Y                  A  ! 
RANGE 

li| 

u 

nJ 
O 

O 

Width  23  feet  6  in. 

1 

>  *•  -^ 

RIMARY 

'      DEMONSTRATION    J 
TABLE 

<                       PRACTICETABLk                     > 

1       g- 

PM 
H 

5 

H 
2 

Ex] 

1 

s 

£ 

RECESS 
WINDOW 

8  10 

COOKERY  C 

S                                             GALLERY 

1  1 

~> 

SEATS 

r>- 

w- 

TO    HOLD 

H. 

FIFTY  FOUR 

! 
V                                           * 

284  Domestic  Economy,  [PT.  II. 

Now  that  cooking  by  gas  is  so  common  it  is  useful,  in  a 
town,  to  supplement  the  range  by  a  gas-stove  on  the  penny 
in  the  slot  system;  by  these  means  the  class  can  be  shown 
the  most  economical  methods  of  using  both. 

The  oven  should  measure  not  less  than  18  inches,  and 
there  should  be  a  good  supply  of  hot  water. 

A  gallery  or  raised  platform,  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate 54  children,  is  required,  and  should 
be  furnished  with  sloping  desks  for  writing 
purposes. 

At  a  permanent  centre  pictures  relating  to  the  various 
subjects  taught  may  be  hung  upon  the  walls,  and  collections 
of  different  materials  in  various  stages,  such  as  starch,  flour, 
cocoa,  tea,  soap,  etc.,  will  often  prove  useful  in  interesting 
the  children. 

Every  Class-room  must  be  provided  with  a  Blackboard. 

The  table  for  a  Demonstration  Lesson  must  be  placed  so 
that  the  class  can  see  every  movement  of  the 
teacher,  and  the  range  should  be  fixed  at  a 
convenient  spot  not  too  far  away. 

The  sink  and  water  supply  should  be  in  one  corner  of 
the  room  in  full  view. 

At  a  Practice  Class  the  tables  placed  with  the  teacher 
standing  at  T  gives  full  control  over  the  pupils,  and  is  a  better 
way  than  putting  them  T-shaped  or  in  one  long  line. 

Demonstration  Classes  are  generally  arranged  to  last  two 
hours,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  is 
a  long  time  for  restless  children.  Therefore  it  is 
a  great  mistake  to  allow  them  to  remain  in 
one  position  the  whole  time  and  to  expect  them  to  give 
undeviating  attention. 

In  the  pause  that  comes  in  a  Cookery  Lesson,  when  the- 
teacher  has  prepared  the  dishes  and  is  about  to  give  the 
blackboard  sketch  and  lesson,  a  break  may  conveniently  be 
made. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        285 


Order. 


A  few  minutes  in  the  fresh  air,  a  few  physical  exercises,  or 
a  song,  will  brighten  up  attention  and  afford  relief. 

A  teacher  of  Domestic  Economy  should  be  very  careful 
to  maintain  law,  discipline,  and  order,  and  the 
conditions  under  which  the  work  is  performed 
should  be  as  bright  and  pleasant  as  possible. 

Tact  and  decision  are  necessary  factors  in  a  successful 
teacher,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that  true  discipline  is 
a  matter  of  growth. 

Steady  influence  must  be  brought  to  bear  to  induce  each 
scholar  to  be  amenable  to  the  control  and  discipline  which 
should  characterize  every  class. 


286  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 


\The  Notes  of  Lessons  which  follow  are  given  as  examples  of 
arrangement  of  the  matter.  They  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  sub- 
stitutes for  the  preparation  of  material  by  the  teacher.  Each 
teacher  must  devise  her  own  ordering  of  subject-material^ 

(1)    NOTES    OF    LESSON    ON    FOOD. 

§  99.     Aim.     To  show : 

I.  What  Food  is. 

II.  Its  classification  and  constituents. 

III.  Its  absorption. 

Time  :  45  minutes. 

Apparatus.  Blackboard  :  some  boiling  and  cold  water  : 
some  cornflour  or  starch  :  a  lump  of  sugar  :  a  piece  of  butter  : 
a  piece  of  meat. 

I.  Food  is  the  material  taken  into  the  body  by  which 
the  structures  are  renewed  and  the  vital  processes  maintained. 

What  do  you  see  stokers  doing  with  the  engines 
in  the  stations? 

This  water  and  coal  are  the  food  of  the  engine  : 
without  them  it  could  not  move. 

In  the  same  way,  we  feed  our  bodies  to  give  them 
strength,  heat,  and  movement. 

Do  we  eat  only  one  kind  of  food  ? 

Several  kinds  of  food  are  necessary,  each  for  its  own 
special  work. 


CHAP,  xil.]     The  TeacJ ting  of  Domestic  Economy.        287 

II.     There  are  Three  classes  of  Foods. 
Nitrogenous,  which  include  the  Proteids  and  gelatine. 
Non-Nitrogenous. 

(a)  Carbohydrates,  e.g.  sugars  and  starches. 

(b)  Fats. 

Salts. 

What  is  the  special  use  of  Nitrogenous  Foods  ? 
All  living  matter  contains  Nitrogen,  therefore  to 

build  up   living    matter  Nitrogenous  food   is 

needed. 

We   find   this   kind   of   food    forming    one    of   the    con- 
stituents of 

1.  Meat — Fibrin. 

2.  Milk — Casein  or  curd. 

3.  White  of  eggs — Albumen. 

4.  Flour — Gluten. 

5.  Peas  and  Beans — Legumin. 

What  work  do  the  Non-Nitrogenous  Foods 

perform  in  our  bodies  ? 
They  chiefly  aid proteid foods  in  building  up  tissues. 

This  group  may  be  divided  into  : 

A.  Starchy  Foods — Carbohydrates. 

B.  Fatty  Foods. 

Some  of  these  foods  are  more  heat-giving  than  others. 
What  do  the  people  in  Greenland  eat  ? 

What  do  the  inhabitants  of  hot  countries,    say 
India,  chiefly  live  on  ? 


288  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  n. 

A.  Starchy  Foods  include 

Rice,         Flour,         Potatoes,         Sugar,  etc. 

B.  Fatty  Foods, 

Butter,  Suet,  Oil,  etc. 

What  is  the  third  class  of  Food,  and  what  is 
its  purpose  in  the  body  'I 

Salts  are  represented  by 

1.  Organic  salts,  found  in  fruit  and  vegetables. 

2.  Inorganic — common  salt. 

In  addition  to  these  three  classes  of  foods  we  must  place 
Water  as  necessary  to  life. 

III.  How  do  these  various  foods  become  absorbed  into 
the  body  ? 

The  process  of  digestion  is  the  way  in  which  the  food 
which  is  solid  may  be  brought  into  a  liquid  condition  and  so 
enter  the  blood. 

Take  some  lump  sugar,  show  it  to  the  Class  as 

a  solid,  then  dissolve  it  in  water. 
Explain  that  all  food  must  be  made  soluble. 
Put  some  starch  or  a  small  piece  of  cooked  meat 

into  water ;  it  remains  unchanged. 
How  then  is  this  food  to  be  rendered  soluble  ? 
Our  bodies  contain  various  juices  that  act  upon  different 
kinds  of  food,  rendering  their  absorption  possible. 

Saliva.  The  saliva  in  the  mouth  turns  the  starch  into  a 
kind  of  sugar  which  dissolves  in  water. 

The  experiment  with  the  lump  sugar  shows  how 
necessary  it  is  to  bite  food  ivell  in  our  mouths 
that  the  saliva  may  have  time  to  work. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        289 

Gastric  juice. 

The  teeth  break  the  meat  up  into  small  pieces  and  when 
it  passes  into  the  stomach  a  juice  called  gastric  juice  acts  upon 
it,  softening  the  fibres,  rendering  them  soluble  and  changing 
their  nature. 

Bile. 

Drop  a  small  piece  of  butter  into  some  hot  water, 
what  happens  ? 

In  the  same  way  in  the  small  intestines  a  juice  from  the 
liver,  called  bile,  causes  the  fat  to  break  up  into  such  small 
particles  that  it  can  pass  into  the  blood. 

The  blood  passes  all  over  the  body,  feeding  the  tissues  and 
renewing  the  different  parts  worn  away  by  work  and  exercise. 

Recapitulation,  and  Blackboard  Sketch. 

(a)     The  Uses  of  Food  : 

1.  It  provides  materials  for  growth. 

2.  It  repairs  the  waste  of  the  body. 

3.  It  makes  new  tissue. 

(£)     There  are  three  kinds  of  Food : 

1.  Nitrogenous  or  Flesh-forming. 

2.  Non-Nitrogenous. 

3.  Salts  and  water. 

(c)  i.  Each  of  these  varieties  is  necessary,  or  loss  of 
appetite,  with  defective  nutrition,  will  ensue. 

2.  To  nourish  the  body  solid  foods  must  be  made  liquid  : 
first,  by  mastication ;   second,  by  digestion. 

3.  These  processes  render  food  soluble  and  capable  of 
being  absorbed  into  the  blood. 

B.  19 


290  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  IT. 


(2)     NOTES   OF  LESSON   ON   THE   PROCESSES 
OF  COOKERY. 

§  100.     Aim.     To  show : 

I.       Necessity  of  cooking. 

II.  The  functions  of  cooking. 

III.  The  chief  methods  used  in  preparing  food. 

Apparatus.  Blackboard :  an  egg :  potatoes,  one  raw, 
one  boiled  :  some  corn-flour :  a  piece  of  freshly  cooked  meat  or 
bacon. 

I.  In  studying  the  value  of  food  and  its  use  in  the  body, 
we  have  seen  preparation  to  be  necessary. 

Cooking  is  the  art  of  preparing  food  to  nourish  the  body. 
It  is  carried  out  by  the  means  of  Heat. 

What  is  the  chief  source  of  light  and  heat? 
In  old  days,  a?id  even    now  in   South  America, 

beef  and  other  foods   were  dried  by  exposure 

to  the  sun. 
In    winter   where   does   our  supply    of   warmth 

come  from  ? 

In  most  countries  the  fire  takes  the  place  of  the  sun  for 
cooking  processes. 

II.     How  may  we  arrange  the  results  of  cooking? 
(a)     Cooking  brings  out  new  flavours. 

Contrast  a  piece  of  freshly  cooked  meat  or  bacon 
with  a  piece  in  a  raw,  uncooked  condition. 

(ti)     Makes  food  digestible. 

Show  the  difference  between   a    raw  potato  and 
a  boiled  floury  one. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        291 

(c)  Bursts  starch  grains. 

Experiment  with  some  corn-flour  and  hot  water 
and  explain  how  the  grains  burst  and  run 
together,  forming  a  sticky  paste. 

(d)  Softens  hard  substances. 

Refer  again  to  the  cooked  and  uncooked  potato. 

(e)  Sets  albumen. 

Poach  an  egg  in  an  open  pan  and  let  the  class 

observe  the  change  that  gradually  takes  place. 
(/)     Kills  germs  of  disease. 

Specify  advantage  of  boiling  milk  or  water. 

III.      What  are  the  usual  methods  of  cooking? 
Roasting,     baking,     grilling,    boiling,     steaming, 
stewing,  frying. 

How  may  we  arrange  these  methods  of  cooking  ? 

We  notice  two  kinds  of  Heat  employed. 
(a)  Dry  heat  or  exposure  to  the  fire. 
(fr)  Wet  heat  or  contact  with  boiling  water. 

(a)     Processes    of  Cookery  effected  by   Dry   Heat  or  ra- 
diation. 

Roasting,  baking,  grilling. 

(I))     Processes    of  Cookery  effected  by   Wet   Heat  or  by 
contact  with  hot  water  or  hot  fat. 

Boiling,  steaming,  stewing,  frying. 

Recapitulation,  and  Blackboard  Sketch. 

I.  Cooking  is  the  means  by  which  food  is  prepared  so  as 
to  nourish  the  body. 

II.  It  is  effected  by  agency  of  Heat,     (a)     Dry   Heat. 
(b)  Wet  Heat. 

III.  Its  results  are  as  shown  abcwe  (a) — (/). 

19—2 


292  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 


(3)     NOTES   OF   LESSON    ON   ROASTING, 
BAKING,    AND    GRILLING. 

§  1 01.  Apparatus.  An  open  pan :  roasting  jack  or 
diagram  :  an  egg. 

What  is  Roasting  ? 

Cooking  meat  before  a  bright,  clear  fire. 

In  small  houses,  baking  in  a  hot  oven  is  generally  used 
instead. 

What   article    of  food    is    largely   composed    of 
Albumen  ? 

In  poaching  an  egg  the  transparent,  sticky,  liquid  white 
became,  by  the  action  of  heat,  opaque,  smooth,  solid.  Al- 
bumen under  the  influence  of  heat  sets  or  coagulates. 

Meat  contains  Albumen  and  other  Proteids. 

In  roasting  or  baking  this  must  be  slightly  hardened  on 
the  outside  to  form  a  thin  coat  or  covering  to  keep  in  the 
red  juices  of  the  meat ;  great  heat  is  applied  for  the  first  ten 
minutes  to  effect  this  and  is  then  reduced. 

What  kind  of  fire  is  required? 

The  bright,  clear  fire  must  be  kept  up  by  putting  on  small 
pieces  of  coal  at  the  back. 

When  roasting  is  carried  on  in  front  of  the  fire  a  spit  or 
jack  is  required. 

If  possible  a  jack  should  be  shown  and  the  simple 

mechanism  explained. 
After  a  joint  has  been  before  the  fire  for  a  few 

minutes  what  do  we  find  in  the  tin  below  ? 

This  melted  fat,  or  dripping,  is  used  to  baste  the  meat. 
By  basting  we  mean  pouring  hot  fat  every  quarter  of  an 
hour  over  the  joint  to  prevent  it  from  becoming  hard  and  dry. 


CHAP,  xil.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        293 

A  joint  roasted  weighs  less  than  it  did  when  raw, 
why  is  this? 

Besides  the  dripping,  there  is  a  loss  of  water  in  the  form 
of  steam,  altogether  about  5  ounces  in  the  pound. 

Only  the  best  joints  should  be  used  for  roasting  and  baking. 

Time  required  for  baking  and  roasting  depends  on  the 
kind  of  meat : 

Beef  and  mutton  :  20  minutes  to  the  Ib.  and  20  minutes 
over. 

Veal  and  pork :  25  minutes  to  the  Ib.  and  25  minutes  over. 

What  apparatus  is  used  for  baking '? 

This  tin  is  made  double  and  the  lower  one  holds  water 
to  prevent  the  fat  from  burning.  The  upper  tin  is  furnished 
with  a  stand  to  prevent  the  meat  from  getting  sodden  in  the 
dripping.  The  baking  oven  must  be  well  ventilated. 

What  is  another  method  of  cooking  by  radiant 
heat? 

The  fire  for  grilling  must  be  clear  and  smokeless  and  the 
chop  or  steak  must  be  turned  every  two  minutes.  Grease  the 
bars  of  the  gridiron  to  prevent  sticking. 

Points  to  remember. 

The  fire  should  be  bright  and  clear. 

Only  the  best  joints  can  be  used. 

Recapitulation. 

(a)  There  are  three  ways  of  Cooking  by  radiant  or  dry 
heat. 

1.  Roasting,  before  a  clear  fire. 

2.  Baking,  in  the  oven. 

3.  Grilling,  on  clear,  hot  comls. 


294  Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  1 1. 

(b)  Meat  for  roasting  is  first  put  near  the  fire  to  set  the 
outer  coating  of  Proteid  matters,  then  drawn  further  away. 

(c)  Meat  loses  about  5  ounces  in  the  Ib.  through, 

1.  Melting  of  the  fat — dripping. 

2.  Loss  of  water — steam. 


(4)     NOTES   OF   LESSON   ON   BOILING 
AND   STEWING. 

§  102.      What  processes   of  cookery   are   effected  by    wet 
heat? 

I.     Boiling  is  cooking  meat  or  fish  in  water. 

What  substance  resembling  the  white  of  egg  is 
found  in  meat  and  fish  ? 

Is  there  any  difference  in  the  effect  of  cold  or 
hot  water  on  Albumen  ? 

Repeat  here  the  previous  experiment  of  poaching 
an  egg ;  at  the  same  time  mix  some  white  of 
egg  with  cold  water  and  question  the  children 
as  to  the  different  results. 

Albumen  dissolves  in  cold  water. 
It  coagulates  or  sets  in  hot  water. 

In  boiling  a  piece  of  mutton  should  cold  or  hot 
water  be  used? 

The  hot  water   hardens  the  outside   Albumen  and    forms 
a  coat  to  keep  in  the  juices. 


CHAP,  xii.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        295 

If  the  meat  were  kept  at  boiling  point  the  whole 
time,  what  would  be  the  result? 

Refer  to  the  experiment  of  poaching  the  egg. 
Meat  simmered  slowly  should  be  juicy  and  tender. 

When  the  juices  are  reqtiired  to  be  drawn  out, 
as  in  stewing  or  soup-making,  should  cold  or 
hot  water  be  used? 

The  cold  water  dissolves  the  Albumen  and  draws  out  the 
nourishment  from  the  meat. 

If  instead  of  fresh  meat,  a  piece  of  salt  meat  or 
fish  is  to  be  cooked,  what  plan  of  cooking  should 
be  adopted! 

Cold  or  lukewarm  water  draws  out  some  of  the  salt. 

The  salt  hardens  the  Proteid  matters  on  the  surface  of  the 
meat  and  the  juices  are  retained. 

Time  for  boiling  is  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  the  pound  and 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  over. 

Here  let  the  Class  reckon  out  the  time  required  for : 

1.  A  piece  of  mutton  for  boiling  weighing  5  Ibs. 

2.  A  piece  of  salt  beef  weighing  7  Ibs. 

What  is  the  name  of  the  water  in  which  meat 
has  been  boiled1} 

Pot  Liquor,  which  should  be  kept  for  soups  and  gravies. 

The  second  process  of  cooking  draws  out  the  juices  ; 
what  is  it  called? 

II.  Stewing  is  cooking  meat  very  gently  for  a  long  time 
in  a  covered  pan,  in  moderate  heat. 

In  roasting  and  boiling  what  was  the  action  of 
heat  on  the  albumen  in  the  meat  ? 

In  Stewing  the  juices  should  be  extracted. 


296  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Should  hot  or  cold  water  be  used  in  the  process  ? 

Cold  water  brought  gradually  to  the  boil  softens  the  fibres 
and  makes  the  meat  tender. 

This  process  is  the  most  economical,  because 

1.  The  cheaper  part  of  meat  can  be  used. 

2.  Little  fire  is  required. 

What  vessel  is  generally  used  for  stewing  ? 
Here  show  an  ordinary  stew-pan  with  tightly  fitting  lid. 

Everyone  does  not  possess  a  steiv-pan ;  what  can 
be  used  instead 'i 

An  earthenware  jar  makes  an  excellent  substitute.  It  should 
be  covered  over  and  placed  in  a  pan  of  boiling  water  or  in 
a  slow  oven. 

The  water  must  boil,  but  not  the  stew. 

N.B.     'Stew  boiled  is  Stew  spoiled.' 

Recapitulation,  and  Blackboard  Sketch. 
I.     Boiling. 

Fresh  Meat  should  be  placed  in  boiling  water  for  the 
first  ten  minutes : 

1.  To  set  the  albumen. 

2.  To  keep  in  the  juices. 

Salt  Meat  may  be  put  on  in  lukewarm  water  and  brought 
slowly  to  the  boil. 

After  the  first  ten  minutes  the  meat  should  simmer  only. 

Time  for  boiling : 

\  hour  to  the  Ib.  and  \  hour  over. 

Pot  Liquor  is  the  name  given  to  the  water  in  which 
meat  has  been  cooked. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        297 

II.     Stewing  is  long,  gentle  cooking  in  a  covered  pan 
with  a  small  quantity  of  liquid. 

1.  It  draws  out  the  juices. 

2.  It  makes  cheap  pieces  of  meat  tasty  and  nourishing. 

3.  It  saves  time — requires  very  little  attention. 

4.  It  saves  fuel — only  a  small  fire  is  needed. 


(5)     NOTES   OF   LESSON   ON   FRYING. 

§  103.     The  second  process  of  cooking  by  wet  heat  is  by 
contact  with  hot  fat. 

What  is  the  name  of  this  method  of  cooking  1 
Heat  some  fat  in  a  pan,  explain  that  the  splutter- 
ing is  due  to  the  water  in  the  fat. 
When  the  fat  is  quiet ',  put  in  a  piece  of  bread. 
Let  the  class  count  60. 
If  the  bread  is  brown  at  the  end  of  that  time  the 

fat  is  hot  enough. 
or, 

Point  out  the  faint  blue  smoke  rising  all  over  the 
pan ;  this  shows  that  the  fat  is  at  the  right 
heat. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  frying,   known  as 

1.  Dry  Frying. 

2.  Wet  Frying. 

1.  Dry  Frying  is  so  called  when  there  is  only  enough 
fat  to  cover  the  bottom  of  the  pan. 

What  is  fried  in  this  way  ? 

2.  Frying   is   called  "wet"  when  the  stew-pan  is  about 
half  full  of  fat. 

Rissoles  and  fish  are  fried  in  this  way. 


298  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  1 1. 

It  is  an  economical  method  of  frying  because  the  fat  can 
be  strained  and  used  over  again. 

When    meat  was  roasted   why    was  great    heat 
applied  for  the  first  ten  minutes  ? 

To  retain  the  juices  in  the  process  of  frying,  the  food  to 
be  cooked  is  covered  with  flour,  batter,  or  egg  and  bread 
crumbs. 

Frying  is  not  a  method  of  economical  cooking,  as  only 
the  best  pieces  of  meat  and  fish  can  be  used,  and  a  quick, 
hot  fire  is  needed. 

If  this  lesson  is  given  last,  it  is  well  to  recapitulate,  ques- 
tioning the  various  processes  from  the  children. 

Points  to  remember. 

1.  The  fat   must  be  smoking  hot. 

2.  Food  to  be  fried  must  be  dry. 

3.  Things  fried  must  be  drained  on  crumpled  paper. 

4.  Fat  should  be  strained  and  poured  into  a  jar  when 
finished  with. 

Recapitulation :    Blackboard   Sketch. 
Frying  is  cooking  in  hot  fat. 
Two  kinds  of  frying : 

1.  Dry  frying — in  a  shallow  pan  with  a  little  fat. 

2.  Wet  frying — in  a  deep  pan  half  full  of  fat. 

Completed   Blackboard    Sketch. 
I.     Cooking  is  a  necessity : 

1.  Without  cookery  civilized  nations  would  starve. 

2.  Monotony    of  method    would   injure    the    digestive 
organs. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        299 

II.     Cooking  may  be  considered  under : 

A.  The  effects  of  cookery. 

1.  To  develop  new  flavours. 

2.  To  render  food  digestible. 

3.  To  burst  starch  grains. 

4.  To  set  albumen. 

5.  To  soften  hard  substances. 

6.  To  kill  germs  of  disease. 

B.  Processes  by  which  this  is  effected  : 

1.  Radiant  Heat : 

Roasting,  baking,  grilling. 

2.  Wet  Heat : 

Boiling,  steaming,  stewing,  frying. 

Special  Points. 

(a)  Albumen  coagulates  or  sets  with  heat. 

(b)  A  high  temperature  renders  it  dry,  hard  and  horny. 

(c)  Cold  water  dissolves  albumen. 

(d)  When  the  meat  juices  are  to  be  retained,  the  albumen 
should  be  allowed  to  set  and  form  a  coat. 


(6)     NOTES  OF  LESSON  ON  STARCH. 

§  104.     Aim.     To  show  what  Starch  is. 
Its  use  as  a  Food. 

Apparatus.     Blackboard:    corn-flour:   sugar:   water,  hot 
and  cold  :  diagrams  of  starch  grains. 

I.     Starch  is  found  in  most  plants,  such  as  wheat — rice — 
potatoes — arrowroot. 


3OO  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Have  you  ever  seen  starch  used1}      What  does  it 
look  like  ? 

This  white  glistening  powder  is  made  up  of  numbers  of 
tiny  granules  or  grains,  each  having  a  different  shape,  varying 
with  the  plant  to  which  it  belongs. 

Here  show  diagrams  of  potato  starch^  rice  starch, 
point  out  the  difference  in  shape. 

II.  Mix  some  starch  with  cold  water  and  let  it  stand. 

What  has  happened  to  the  starch  ? 

We  see  that  starch  will  not  melt  or  dissolve  in  cold  water. 
It  is  said  to  be  insoluble. 

Make  some  paste  by  pouring  boiling  water  on  the 

starch. 

ft 

What  has  happened  to  the  mixture  ? 

Thus  in  warm  water  thickening  is  caused  by  the  bursting  of 
the  walls  of  the  starch  cells,  which  have  run  together  and  form 
a  paste. 

Therefore,  Starch  mixed  with  boiling  water  becomes 
soluble. 

To  which  class  of  Foods  does  starch  belong! 

In  hot  countries,  such  as  India,  Rice  forms  the  principal 
article  of  diet,  being  less  heating  than  fatty  heat-givers. 

Melt  some  sugar  in  water  and  contrast  it  with  the 
starch  and  water. 

What  is  the  difference  between  the  two  ? 

Sugar  is  Soluble. 
Starch  is  Insoluble. 

III.  Starchy  Foods  can  be  changed  into  a  kind  of  sugar 
and  rendered  soluble. 


CHAP.  XII.]     Tlie  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        301 

1.  By  Heat — Crust  of  bread — Biscuit. 

2.  By  the  process  of  Digestion — in  the  mouth  and 
small  intestine. 

Why  should  starchy  food  not  be  given  to  young 
infants  ? 

Starch  cannot  be  rendered  soluble  without  the  action  of  a 
certain  ferment  in  the  saliva  of  the  mouth. 

This  is  not  present  until  a  child  is  six  months  old. 

Starch  acted  upon  by  dry  heat,  such  as  baking,  is  more 
soluble,  example : 

Biscuit  'twice  cooked,'  Baked  Flour,  etc. 
Recapitulation  and  Blackboard  Sketch. 

1.  Starch  is  obtained  from  Wheat — Rice — Potatoes — 
Sago,  and  other  plants. 

2.  It  is  insoluble  in  cold  water. 

3.  When  mixed  with  hot  water,  the  granules  swell  and 
thicken. 

4.  Starch  is  a  Heat-giving  Food. 


(7)     NOTES  OF  LESSON  ON  FATTY  FOODS. 

§  105.     Aim.     To  show : 

1.  Their  sources. 

2.  Their  food-value  and  use  in  the  body. 

Apparatus  or  Material:  Butter:  suet:  olive  oil:  linseed: 
hot  water. 

I.     We  saw  that    Carbonaceous    Foods   fall  into  two   di- 
visions. 

Question  upon  the  Foods  that  fall  within  each  of 
these  classes. 


302  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

We  now  consider  the  sources  from  which  these  Fatty  foods 
are  derived. 

These  sources  are  : 

(a)  Animal,     (b)  Vegetable. 

Animal  Fats  may  be  arranged  thus  : 

1.  Suet,  the  animal  fat  generally  used,  is  of  two  kinds  : 

Beef  suet — yellow  and  rich. 
Mutton  suet — white  and  hard. 

2.  Lard,  a  pork  product. 

3.  Butter,  a  milk  product. 

4.  Margarine,  an  animal  fat  treated  artificially  by  boil- 
ing and  colouring. 

5.  Oil,  e.g.  from  the  Cod-fish,  or  Cod-liver  oil. 

The  above  may  be  obtained  by  questioning. 

Vegetable  Fats  are  the  following  : 

These  may  be  obtained  by  questioning. 

1.  Olive  oil,  from  the  olive  berry. 

2.  Linseed  oil,  from  the  seed  of  the  Flax  plant. 

3.  Castor  oil,  from  the  Castor  oil  plant. 

4.  Palm  oil,  cotton-seed  oil,  etc. 

II.     There  are  two  classes  of  Carbonaceous  foods. 
Which  of  these  produces  more  heat  1 

To  illustrate  the  answer,  refer  shortly  to  any 
well-known  Arctic  voyage;  describing  the  foods 
used. 

Make  clear  the  connection  between  climate  and 
food. 


CHAP.  XII.]      The  Teaching- of  Domestic  Economy.        303 

Now  before  food  can  nourish  the  body  it  must  become 
soluble. 

Is  Fat  soluble  ? 

Drop  a  little  fat  into  hot  water  contained  in  a 

glass. 

The  Class  will  point  out  the  change  in  the  fat. 
'Alloiv  the  water  to  become  cold,  and  ask  for  the 
difference  in  the  condition  of  the  fat. 

Fat  must  be  made  soluble. 

Mix  together  fat  and  soda. 
Result:  a  soapy  substance. 

Fat  can  therefore  be  made  soluble,   by  being  broken  up 
and  divided,  and  so  can  be  absorbed. 

III.     In  the  human  body  the  work  is  performed  by 
(a)     The  Bile— a  juice  from  the  Liver. 
(/;)     The  Pancreatic  Juice. 

We  see  then  that  Fat  as  food 

(1)  is  rendered  soluble  by  certain  juices  of  the  body, 

(2)  can  then  be  absorbed  by  the  digestive  powers  into 
the  blood, 

(3)  and  is  a  source  of  heat  to  the  body. 


Recapitulation  and  Blackboard  Sketch. 

Fatty  Foods  belong  to  the  Carbonaceous  or  Heat-givers. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  Fat : 

Animal,  such  as  Suet,  Lard,  Butter,  Margarine,  Fish  oil. 

Vegetable,  such  as  Olive  oil,  Unseed  oil,  Palm  oil,  etc. 


304  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Fats  and  oils  are  largely  eaten  in  cold  countries  to  give 
heat  to  the  body. 

Fat  is  rendered  soluble  by 

1.  The  Bile  from  the  Liver. 

2.  The  Pancreatic  Juice. 


(8)     LESSON  ON  CLOTHING. 

§  1 06.  Aim.  To  show  the  best  kind  of  Clothing  materials. 

Apparatus.     New  flannel :  cocoon  of  silk  and  a  piece  of 
silk  :  cotton  yarn  :  linen  threads. 

Name  some  of  the  materials  used  for  clothing. 

Which  is  the  one  chiefly  used  in  winter  ? 

Where  does  wool  come  from  ? 
At  what  time  of  the  year  is  it  cut  from  the  sheep's 
back? 

I.     Flannel. 

The  processes  gone  through  in  manufacturing  wool  into 
flannel  are : 

1.  Washing — to  cleanse  thoroughly. 

2.  Pressing — to  squeeze  out  the  water. 

3.  Combing — to  get  the  fibres  smooth  and  straight. 

4.  Spinning — twisting  into  yarn  or  threads. 

5.  Weaving — making  up  into  a  piece  of  material. 

Flannel  is : 

i.     White 

T  .  ,  Illustrate  these  properties   by   shoiuing  a 

.4!     Strong  [         Piece  of  new  flanrxl. 
5.     Warm  I 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        30$ 

II.  Silk. 

What  material  comes  next  to    Wool  in  non-con- 
ducting properties  ? 

Silk  is  the  only  animal  textile  fabric. 

What  is  the  name  of  the  insect  that  produces  silk 

threads  ? 
Question  the  Class  as  to  whether  any  of  them  have 

kept  or  seen  silkworms. 

Show  pictures   or  draw   diagrams   of  eggs   and 
cocoons.     Show  some  raw  silk. 

The  raw  silk  is  spun  into  threads. 
Why  are  threads  spun  ? 

Experiment  :—Let  a  scholar  take  a  single  thread  and  break 
it — Thread  too  fine  to  have  any  strength — Let  two  girls  twist 
several  threads  into  one  string. 

Show  increased  strength. 

The  threads  are  woven  into  pieces  of  silk. 

Silk  is, 

1.  A  non-conductor  of  heat. 

2.  Does  not  shrink. 

III.  Cotton. 

What  material  comes  after  Flannel  and  Silk  as 
an  article  of  clothing  1 

Calico  is  made  from  the  Cotton  plant. 

What  part  of  the  plant  produces  the  Cotton  ? 

The  seed  pod  bursts  and  shows  a  ball  of  white  threads. 
This  is  spun  and  woven  like  the  silk. 

Refer  to   experiment   with   silk   threads   and  if 

necessary,  repeat  with  cotton. 
Show  specimens  of  raw* cotton  and  cotton  yarn. 
B.  20 


306  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  il. 

Calico  is, 

1.  A  good  conductor — Bad  property  for  clothing. 

2.  Durable. 

3.  Washes  well. 

4.  Does  not  shrink. 

IV.     Linen. 

The  next  material  is  Linen. 

From  what  plant  do  we  get  Linen  ? 

Flax  has  a  thin  stem  and  bright  blue  flowers,  the  seeds  are 
known  as  Linseed. 

Linen  is  made  from  the  stem  of  the  plant. 

What  is  done  to  Wheat  when  gathered? 

Flax  stems  are  tied  in  bundles  in  the  same  way,  soaked  in 
water,  and  the  fibres  or  threads  beaten  out,  the  long  ones 
separated  from  the  short  ones. 

These  threads  are  spun  and  woven  into  Linen. 

Refer  to  the  spinning  of  cotton  and  silk. 

Take  a  piece  of  calico  and  a  piece  of  linen,  compare  the 
two,  question  the  Class  as  to  any  difference. 

1.  Linen  is  stronger  than  Cotton. 

2.  It  is  colder  than  Calico. 

3.  Cotton  is  "fluffy"  to  the  touch. 

4.  Linen  is  smooth. 

Blackboard  Sketch. 

Chief  materials  used  for  Clothing  are, 

i.     Flannel — a  non-conductor,  made  from  the  wool  of 
the  sheep. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        307 

2.  Silk — made  from  the  threads  spun  by  the  silkworm. 

3.  Calico — manufactured  from  the  cotton  plant. 

4.  Linen — made  from  the  stem  of  the  flax  plant;   a 
good  conductor  of  heat. 

Clothing  worn  next  the  skin  should  be 

1.  A  non-conductor. 

2.  A  good  absorbent  of  moisture. 


(9)     LESSON   ON   SOME  HYGIENIC  RULES 
OF  DRESS. 

§  107.     Aim.     To  show: 

1.  Necessity  of  changing  Clothes. 

2.  Rules  for  wearing  Clothing. 

Apparatus.  Blackboard :  Diagram  of  body  affected  by 
tight  clothes :  a  piece  of  black  and  of  white  material :  eau  de 
Cologne. 

I.      What  happens  to  clothes  that  have  been  worn  ? 
Underclothes  become  soiled  and  dirty  from 

1.  Contact  with  the  skin. 

2.  Perspiration  from  the  body. 

Outer  garments  get  soiled  from  touching  dirty  things,  from 
smoke,  from  dust  in  the  air. 

What  should  be  done  with  soiled  clothes  ? 
Besides  being  washed,  they  should  be  aired. 
What  is  meant  by  airing1} 

Unless  clothes  are  thoroughly  dried,  they  strike  cold  to  the 
body  and  drive  the  blood  back  and  a  chill  ensues. 

20 — 2 


308  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Experiment  with  some  eau  de  Cologne  or  salvolatile  on 
the  back  of  a  warm  hand. 

Clothes  that  are  worn  by  day  should  not  be  slept  in  at 
night. 

All  clothing  and  especially  bed-clothes  should  be  hung  up 
and  exposed  to  the  air. 

II.  Are  light  or  dark  clothes  most  worn  in  su/nmer? 

Light  clothes  take  in — absorb — less  heat  from  the  sun  than 
dark  ones,  in  the  winter  then  we  wear  dark  stuffs. 

III.  Tight  clothes  deform  the  body. 

What  happens  to  the  feet  when  boots  or  shoes 
pinch'} 

The  feet  grow  out  of  shape,  and  other  parts  of  the  body  do 
the  same. 

Tight  lacing  presses  on  the  internal  organs,  such  as  the 
lungs  —breathing  apparatus — liver,  etc. 

The  body  gets  out  of  shape  and  breathing  is  short  and 
difficult. 

Tight  garters  prevent  the  blood  from  flowing  properly  and 
varicose  veins  are  formed. 


Blackboard. 

1.  Underclothing   should    be   frequently   changed  and 
washed. 

2.  All  clothing  should  be  aired. 

3.  Light  clothes  are  cooler  in  summer  than  dark  ones. 

4.  Tight  clothes  deform  the  body. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        309 


(10)     SUMMARY  OF  LESSONS  ON   CLOTHING. 

§  1 08.     Clothing  is  a  Necessity. 

1.  Without  clothing,  there  is  loss  of  heat. 

2.  Without    the    protection    of   clothes,    injury    to   the 
body. 

Clothing. 

a.  Keeps  in  the  heat  of  the  body. 

b.  Keeps  out  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

Kinds  of  Clothing. 

1.  Non-conductors  of  heat. 

2.  Good  conductors  of  heat. 

1.  Non-conductors:  Fur,  Flannel,  Silk,  Wool. 

2.  Good  conductors  :  Cotton,  Calico,  Linen. 

Special  Points  to  be  pressed  home  : 

a.     Underclothing  worn  next  the  skin  should  be  a  non- 
conductor and  absorbent. 

/;.  Light  clothes  keep  out  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

c.  Tight  clothing  deforms  the  body. 

d.  Clothes  should  be  frequently  changed. 

e.  After  washing  clothing  should  be  thoroughly  aired. 


Domestic  Economy.  [FT.  IT. 


(11)     NOTES   OF   FOUR   CONSECUTIVE   LESSONS 
ON    VENTILATION. 

LESSON  I. 
§  109.     Aim.     To  show: 

1.  The  necessity  for  air. 

2.  The  principles  of  true  ventilation. 

3.  The  chief  systems  in  use,  and  how  they  fulfil  those 
principles. 

4.  Special  points  with  regard  to  class-rooms,  dwelling- 
houses,  etc. 

Apparatus.  Blackboard  :  lime  water  :  tumbler :  glass 
tube  :  clear  glass  bottle  :  candle  :  matches. 

In  learning  about  food  values  and  food  prepa- 
ration ,  what  article  of  consumption  have  you 
found  to  be  most  necessary  ? 

How  does  water  affect  digestion  and  circulation  ? 

It  plays  an  important  part  in  each. 

So-called  fasting  men  and  women  are  allowed  water,  and 
it  is  this  enables  them  to  fast  for  any  length  of  time. 

But  we  have  a  third  great  need,  greater  moment  by  moment 
than  food  or  water.  Food  we  may  do  without  for  three 
weeks ;  water  we  may  do  without  for  three  days  ;  but  we 
could  not  live  for  three  minutes  without  air. 

Respiration,  i.e.  breathing  in  and  out,  takes  place 
15  to  17  times  a  minute ;  life  ceases  if  this  is  not  carried  out. 

Of  what  does  air  consist  ? 
Ordinary  air  consists  of: 

Nitrogen,  79  parts,  \ 

Oxygen,     21  >  100  parts. 

Faint  trace  carbonic  acid  gas     J 


CHAP,  xil.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        311 

Which  of  these  gases  is  essential  to  life  ? 

Air  from  which  oxygen  is  expelled  cannot  maintain  life. 
Example :    Drowning    is   death   from   oxygen-starvation, 
although  water  contains  some  air  and  therefore  some  oxygen. 
Fish  placed  in  water  recently  boiled,  die.     Why  ? 

In  1848  the  Londonderry  sailed  to  Liverpool  with  200  passengers. 
Bad  storm,  to  ensure  safety,  captain  ordered  all  passengers  below. 

Steerage  passengers  in  very  small  cabin ;  door  tightly  fastened  on 
the  outside. 

First  great  discomfort,  nothing  more. 

Presently  to  prevent  inrush  of  water  to  this  cabin,  captain  ordered 
large  sheet  of  tarpaulin  to  be  securely  fastened  over  the  entire  entrance. 

A  scene  of  frenzy  ensued  :  the  wretched  prisoners  struggled  and  fought 
in  useless  efforts  to  escape. 

The  storm  drowned  the  noise  of  their  shrieks. 

When  the  doors  were  finally  opened  73  already  dead,  many  others 
dying. 

What  was  the  cause  ? 
Want  of  oxyen  one  cause,  but  not  the  chief. 

What  other  cause? 

Experiment.     Show  two  filled  bottles. 
What  difference,  if  any,  between  these  bottles  ? 
Both  contain  clear,  clean  water  and  look  alike. 
They  look  alike,  but  one  contains  clear  water. 

The  other   contains  clear  lime  water. 

If  possible  let  the  teacher  or  a  scholar,  in  sight  of  the  Class,  hold  the 
bottle  of  water  out  of  a  window,  pour  out  the  water  and  at  once  rapidly 
draw  the  bottle  horizontally  through  the  air  and  cork  it. 

Ask  Class  what  it  now  contains. 
Air,  where  from  ?     Out  of  doors. 
Add  a  little  lime-water  (not  half  full). 
It  now  contains  lime-water  and  air. 
Shake  vigorously.     Any  change  visible  ?     No  change. 
Pour  lime-water  into  a  tumbler :   breathe  into  it  through 
a  tube. 


312  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Any  change  ?     Lime-water  quite  milky. 

If  a  saucer  of  lime-water  stands  in  a  room,  with  the  doors 
and  windows  closed,  occupied  by  several  people,  in  a  few 
hours  the  lime-water  will  turn  milky  in  the  same  way. 

What  do  these  experiments  show  ? 
Breathed  air  undergoes  a  change. 

How  can  yon  find  out  if  foods  contain  starch  ? 

As  iodine  is  a  test  for  starch,  lime-water  is  the  test  for 
carbonic  acid  gas,  the  turning  of  the  lime-water  milky  proves 
the  presence  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Of  which  gas  is  there  an  excess  in  breathed  air 
than  in  ordinary  air? 

It  has  gained  carbonic  acid  gas  and  lost  oxygen  during 
respiration. 

Expired  air  consists  of : 

Nitrogen,  80  parts,  j 

Oxygen,  15  >  =  100  parts. 

Carbonic  acid  gas,         5 

Near  Naples  there  is  a  cave  or  grotto  which  contains  great  quantities 
of  carbonic  acid  gas.  Men  walking  upright  may  enter  and  feel  little  or 
no  discomfort.  A  dog  drops  instantly  unconscious,  and  if  not  quickly 
withdrawn  soon  dies.  So  too  would  a  man  entering  on  his  hands  and 
knees. 

What  two  things  (foes  this  show  ? 

Carbonic  acid  gas  destroys  life. 

Carbonic  acid  gas  is  much  heavier  than  air. 

Now  can  you  tell  the  causes  of  death  on  board 
tlie  Londonderry  ? 

1.  Insufficiency  of  oxygen, 

2.  Excess  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 


CHAP.  XII.]      TJie  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.         313 

Besides  carbonic  acid  gas,  expired  air  contains  organic 
or  animal  refuse  matters  proved  by  experiment  to  be  deadly 
poison. 

These  decaying  matters  are  being  constantly  thrown  out, 

A.  By  the  lungs. 

B.  In  moisture  and  vapour  from  the  skin. 

Excess  of  carbonic  acid  gas  charged  with  organic  refuse 
has  evil  effects  even  if  life  is  not  destroyed. 

It        i.     Causes  languor,  giddiness,  headache,  etc. 

2.  Makes  the  face  pale  (blood  not  oxygenated). 

3.  Lowers  vitality  and  increases  liability  to  disease. 

Each  adult  gives  out  14  to  19  cubic  feet  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  besides  organic  matter  in  24  hours. 

What  therefore  happens  in  dwellings  and  places, 

(Concert-halls,   theatres,  churches,  chapels,  work-rooms),  where  many 
people  gather  together?    Air  rapidly  fouls,  gets  bad. 

Rooms  must  be  ventilated,  fresh  air  brought  in. 

Blackboard  Sketch. 
Air  is  necessary  to  life  (because) : 

1.  Without  air  man  starves  for  want  of  oxygen. 

2.  Without   change   of  air,    man    is    poisoned   by   the 
(a)  carbonic  acid  gas  in  the  air ;  (I))  refuse  organic  matter. 

LESSON  II.     VENTILATION  continued. 

§110.     Aim  and  Apparatus,  as  in  Lesson  I. 

W/iat  is  ventilation  ? 
Bringing  in  fresh  air. 


314  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

True  ventilation  a  double  function :  it  must  constantly 
supply  fresh,  pure  air  and  constantly  remove  used  up  and 
impure  air. 

This  is  the  principle  or  law  of  pure  ventilation  : 

1.  Letting  in  pure  air. 

2.  Letting  out  bad  air. 

What  difference  besides  impurity  is  there  between 
carbonic  acid  gas  and  ordinary  air  ? 

Carbonic  acid  gas  is  52  per  cent,  heavier. 
Where  ought  the  outlets  to  be? 

Near  the  floor. 

A  good  answer  if  it  squares  with  all  the  facts. 

Explain  that  wherever  combustion  takes  place  carbon  and 
oxygen  combine  and  carbonic  acid  gas  is  given  out. 

Example.  Bright  fire  burning,  where  do  the  gases  and 
smoke  go  ? 

This  effect  is  in  obedience  to  what  great  natural  law  ? 
Heat  expands  air,  which  becoming  lighter  ascends. 

What  do  you  feel  if  you  breathe  info  the  palms 

of  your  hands? 
Heat. 

Why  is  expired  air  hot? 

What  is  the  normal  temperature  of  t fie  body  ? 

The  blood  of  the  inner  organs,  such  as  the  heart,  is  even 
a  little  hotter. 

Expired  air  comes  direct  to  the  lungs  from  the  heart,  and 
experiments  prove  exhaled  air  at  the  moment  of  expiration 
to  be  no  heavier  than  pure  air  at  temperature  90°  Fahrenheit. 

What  is  the  usual  temperature  of  an  ordinary 

dwelling  room  ? 

What  then  happens  to  the  air  we  expire  ? 
WJiere  should  the  outlets  for  it  be  placed  ? 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        315 

Stand  on  a  chair  or  table  in  a  closed  or  ill-ventilated  room 
containing  several  people,  and  the  upper  air  will  feel  much 
hotter  and  be  much  more  stuffy. 

Galleries  in  theatres  or  churches  afford  other  illustrations. 

If  in  a  room  with  a  fire  burning,  the  windows  and  doors 
closed,  a  lighted  candle  is  held  in  front  of  the  keyhole,  or 
by  the  side  of  the  door,  you  will  see  that  air  rushes  in  and 
extinguishes  the  candle  or  bends  flame  towards  the  fire. 

Why? 

Some  of  the  hot  spent  air  we  exhale  rises  to  the  ceiling, 
but  where  there  is  an  open  fire-place  much  is  sucked  into 
the  strong  draught  of  heated  gases  passing  up  the  chimney, 
fresh  cold  air  rushing  in  at  every  crevice  to  supply  the  place 
of  the  hot  air  withdrawn. 

Where  should  the  inlets  bet 

Inlets  near  the  floor  would  be  the  most  effective,  because 
fresh  pure  air  rushing  in  at  the  lower  part  of  a  room  creates 
a  stronger  draught  and  helps  more  rapidly  to  drive  up  and 
out  the  impure  air. 

Can  you  tell  me  any  reason  why  inlets  should 
not  be  near  the  floor  ? 

Inlets  must  not  be  so  low  as  to  cause  draughts  and  chills 
to  the  feet  and  body. 

The  same  great  principle — hot  air  rising  and  cooler  air 
rushing  in  to  take  its  place — causes  the  circulation  of  the 
air,  breezes  and  winds,  in  nature's  great  ventilating  system. 

Blackboard  Sketch. 

True  ventilation  has  a  double  action  : 
It        i.     Brings  in  fresh  pure  air. 
2.     Drives  out  spent  bad  air. 
Inlets  about  5  feet  above  the  floor. 
Outlets  near  the  ceiling. 


316  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  1 1. 


LESSON  III.    VENTILATION  continued. 

§  in.     Apparatus  and  Aim,  as  in  Lesson  I. 

Ventilation  is  of  two  kinds  : 

1.  Natural. 

2.  Artificial. 

Natural  Ventilation  is  produced  by  the  ordinary  and 
natural  interchange  of  air  when  windows,  doors,  and  other 
openings  are  utilized. 

Artificial  Ventilation  is  produced  by  the  help  of 
heating  apparatus  or  mechanical  contrivances  either  for  forcing 
air  in,  or  sucking  it  out. 

There  is  no  hard  and  fast  distinction  between  the  two, 
but  the  nearer  a  system  conforms  to  Natural  Ventilation,  the 
simpler  and  more  effective  it  is  as  a  rule. 

Some  chief  features  are  : 

A.     By  the  windows. 

1.  Costless  ventilation. 

Raise  the  lower  sash,  fill  open  space  by  block  of  wood  :  air  enters 
between  the  two  sashes,  the  upward  direction  imparted  diffusing  it  steadily 
through  the  room  without  perceptible  draught. 

2.  Window   itself  can,  and   should  be,  thrown  widely 
open   at  intervals  to  flush  the  room. 

3.  Lower  the  top  sash  and  fasten  zinc  gauze  across   the 
open   space.     Air  is  diffused  through  gauze  and   an    upward 
current  admitted  between  the  sashes. 

4.  An  upper  pane  of  a  window  is  hinged  to  fall  forward 
with  side  shields  of  glass  to  prevent  down  draught.     Current 
is  upwards.     Often  used  in  schoolrooms,  churches,   etc.      Or 
upper  pane  of  a   window   may  be    pivoted    to    swing   like    a 
looking-glass,  but  this  is  draughty  in  windy  weather. 


CHAP,  xii.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        317 

5.     Louvre   Ventilators. 

Parallel  slats  of  glass  (like  a  Venetian  blind)  inclined  up- 
wards to  direct  the  current  of  air. 

Windows  are  mainly  serviceable  as  inlets,  with  which 
separate  exits  near  the  ceiling  should  be  combined. 

B.  By  the  walls. 

1.  Tobin's  Tubes.     Circular  or   oblong  tubes   5  or 
6  feet  high,  fixed  against  the  inside  wall  of  a  room. 

Outside  air  enters  the  tube  through  a  grating  in  the  wall  at  the  floor 
level,  current  flows  upward  and  diffuses  gradually ;  there  is  little  or  no 
draught.  Size  and  number  of  tubes  should  depend  on  the  size  of  the 
room,  and  number  of  persons  usually  occupying  it. 

This  is  a  good  system  for  schools. 

2.  Sheringham's  Valves. 

An  iron  box  fixed  in  the  wall,  the  back  of  the  box  a 
grating  through  which  the  outside  air  enters  freely.  In  front 
a  valve  on  the  same  principle  as  a  hinged  window  pane. 

C.  By  ceiling  and  chimney. 

1.  Ceiling  outlets,  by  which  hot,  foul  air  enters  a 
shaft    leading  sideways  to   the    open  air,   or   a   vertical    shaft 
through    the    roof  surmounted    by   a  cowl    to    prevent  down 
draught  through  the  wind. 

2.  The  chimney  forms  the  best  means  of  escape  for 
foul  air. 

Every  room  should  have  an  open  fire-place.  A  bedroom 
chimney  should  never  be  dosed  or  boarded. 

There  is  an  up-current  as  a  rule,  even  when  there  is 
no  fire. 

When  a  fire  is  burning,  5000  to  15000  cubic  feet  per 
hour  pass  up  the  chimney,  which  thus  becomes  a  powerful 
extraction  shaft. 


318  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

3.  Arnot's  Valve.     Exit  into  chimney  flue. 

This  consists  of  an  iron  box  fixed  into  the  wall  of  the  chimney,  near 
the  ceiling,  and  fitted  with  a  light  metal  flap  to  swing  open  towards  the 
chimney,  but  not  towards  the  room;  thus  providing  an  exit  for  foul  air 
to  pass  into  and  off  through  the  chimney. 

Disadvantage.     The  metal  valve  is  noisy  in  windy  weather. 

4.  Boyle's  Ventilator.     This  is  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple, but  substituting  thin  talc  or  mica  plates  for  the  metal 
flap. 

Disadvantage.  The  plates  are  almost  too  sensitive,  they 
are  affected  by  the  least  current  and  are  not  very  durable. 


Blackboard  Sketch. 

Ventilation  is  of  two  kinds  : 

1.  Natural. 

2.  Artificial. 

1.  Natural  Ventilation   is  produced  by  the  ordinary 
and  natural  interchange  of  air  when  windows,  doors,  and  other 
openings  are  utilized. 

2.  Artificial   Ventilation  :    by   means   of  hot  air   or 
mechanical  force. 

Chief  Systems. 

Inlets.      Doors  and  windows. 

Hinged  window  panes. 

Louvre  ventilators. 

Tobin  tubes. 

Sheringham  valves. 
Outlets.     Through  the  ceilings  and  roofs : 

Arnot's  valve,  conducting  foul  air  into  chimney 
flue. 

Boyle's  ventilator. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  TeacJiing  of  Domestic  Economy.        319 


LESSON  IV.    VENTILATION  continued. 

§  112.     Aim  and  Apparatus,  as  in  Lesson  I. 

Special  points. 

How  is  air  in  our  rooms  spoilt  by  other  means 
than  respiration  ? 

Every  form  of  combustion  uses  up  oxygen,  increases  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  therefore  air  is  spoilt  by : 

1.  Fires  used  in  heating  rooms. 

2.  Candles,  lamps,  gas  jets,  used  in  lighting  rooms. 

Fires  withdraw  much  oxygen,  give  out  much  carbonic  acid 
gas,  but  most  of  the  latter  passes  up  the  chimney  without 
fouling  the  room. 

Four  candles  or  one  lamp  spoil  as  much  air  as  two  men. 

Each  gas  burner  spoils  as  much  air  as  from  3  to  6  men. 
This  must  be  remembered  in  ventilating  rooms. 

The  lighting  and  heating  of  rooms  increase  the  difficulty 
of  ventilation,  except  in  the  case  of  open  fire-places,  which 
create  a  strong  draught  and  carry  off  the  carbonic  acid  gas. 

What  is  meant  by  the  cubic  space  of  a  room  ? 

The  length,  breadth  and  height  multiplied  together. 

3000  cubic  feet  of  air  per  head  per  hour  is  a  very  liberal 
allowance,  though  less  than  yj^th  part  of  the  allowance  pro- 
vided by  nature  in  the  open  air. 

If  1000  cubic  feet  of  space  were  allotted  per  head,  then 
the  air  should  be  entirely  changed  three  times  per  hour. 

How  would  you  find  the  floor  space  of  a  room  ? 

The  length  multiplied  by  the  breadth  gives  the  floor  space 
or  superficial  feet  of  a  room. 


320  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Where  space  is  limited,  as  in  class  rooms,  frequent  and 
complete  change  of  air  by  ventilation  and  flushing  must  be 
ensured. 

The  amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas  exhaled  increases  as  the 
human  being  advances  from  8  to  30  years  of  age. 

It  is  less  in  a  child,  but : 

1.  Respiration  is  more  rapid:  more  oxygen  is  needed  in 
a  given  time. 

2.  The  brain  in  exercise  requires  more  oxygen  to    do 
its  work. 

3.  Children  are  more  liable  to  infectious  diseases  than 
adults   and   a    free    supply   of    oxygen    helps    to    destroy    the 
micro-organisms  of  such  diseases. 

4.  Amongst  the  poor,  persons  and  clothes  are  frequently 
not  washed  often  enough,  and  so  aid  in  polluting  the  air. 

Bedrooms. 

1.  Draw  the  supply  of  fresh  air  direct  from  the  open  air, 
and  not  from  the  vitiated  air  of  the  house  through  the  open 
door. 

2.  Open  the  windows  in  the  early  morning  to  flush  out 
the  impurities  accumulated  in  the  air  during  the  night,  leave 
them  freely  open  during  the  day. 

3.  The  incoming  air  should  not  pass  direct  towards  the 
bed. 

4.  Avoid  crowding  sleeping  or  living   rooms   with  fur- 
niture :  each  piece  decreases  space  available  for  air. 

Why  should  beds  be  stripped  as  soon  as  vacated, 
and  night  garments  left  unfolded  for  some  little 
time  while  the  bedroom  windows  are  still  open  ? 


CHAP.  Xll]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        321 

Blackboard.     Special  Points. 

A.  Lighting  and  heating  make  ventilation  more  difficult 
by: 

(a)  Diminishing  oxygen. 

(b)  Increasing  carbonic  acid  gas. 

B.  Furniture  lessens  air  space. 

C.  Ventilation  i?i  schools  is  especially  necessary  : 
T.     Cubic  capacity  is  limited. 

2.  Confinement  long. 

3.  Respiratory  vital  processes  are  rapid. 

4.  Children  more  liable  to  infection. 

5.  Children  often  neglected  in  person  and  clothing. 

Rub   out    the   blackboard   sketch   and   give    the   Class  the    following 
questions  to  be  answered  verbally  or  (preferably)  in  writing. 

A.  Where  should  impure  air  outlets  be  placed,  and  why  ? 

B.  A  man  holding  a  child  of  2  years  old  by  the  hand, 
walks  into  the  grotto  already  named. 

What  would  you  expect  to  happen  to  each,  and  why  ? 

C.  Give  the   reasons  why  it  is  healthier  to   sleep  on  a 
bed  2  feet  from  the  floor  than  : 

(a)  Upon  a  mattress  on  the  floor. 

(b)  In  a  hammock  swung  near  the  ceiling. 

D.  In  what  way  do  lighting  and  heating  affect  ventilation  ? 

E.  Give  the  cubic  feet  of  air  and  the  floor  space  in  : 

1.  A  room  18  feet  long;  10  feet  wide  ;  12  feet  high. 

2.  A  room  10  feet  long  ;  8  feet  wide  ;  27  feet  high. 

B.  21 


322  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Completed  Blackboard  Sketch. 

I.  Air  a  necessity  : 

1.  Without  air,  oxygen  starvation. 

2.  Without  change  of  air,  carbonic  acid  gas  and  refuse 
poisoning. 

II.  True  Ventilation  a  double  process  : 

1.  Brings  in  fresh  pure  air. 

2.  Drives  out  spent  foul  air. 

Governing  Law. 

1.  Hot  air  rises — Outlets  through  ceiling  at  highest 
point. 

2.  Cold  air  descends — Inlets  5  feet  above  the  floor. 

III.  A.     Kinds  of  Ventilation. 

1.  Natural — by  free  passage   of  air   through   In-   and 
Outlets. 

2.  Artificial — by  use  of  hot  air  or  mechanical  force. 

B.     Chief  Systems. 

Inlets.      Doors  and  windows. 

Hinged  panes. 

Louvre  ventilators. 

Tobin's  tubes. 

Sheringham's  valves. 
Outlets.    Exits  through  ceiling  and  roof. 

Arnot's  valves. 

Boyle's  ventilators. 

IV.  Special  Points. 

(a)  Lighting  and  heat  affect  ventilation. 

(b)  Furniture  lessens  the  air  space. 


CHAP,  xii.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.         323 

(c]  Importance  of  ventilation  in  schools. 

1.  Cubic  space  limited. 

2.  Confinement  long. 

3.  Respiration  rapid. 

4.  Brain  in  work  needs  more  oxygen. 

5.  Children  more  liable  to  infection. 

6.  Children  often  neglected  in  person  and  clothing. 


(12)   NOTES  OF  A  LESSON  ON  THE  CHOICE  AND 
CARE    OF  LAUNDRY  UTENSILS1. 

§  113.     Class.     Standard  V. 

Number.     14. 

Average  Age.     13  years. 

Previous  Knowledge. 

1.  Such  facts  as  they  may  have  acquired  at  home. 

2.  Facts  gathered  by  observation. 

Educational  Aims. 

1.  To  train  the  powers  of  observation. 

2.  To  exercise  the  memory. 

Practical  Aim. 

1.  To  teach  the  Class  the  best  kind  of  utensils  to  buy. 

2.  How  to  take  care  of  them  that  they  may  last  as  long 

as  possible. 

1  The  Notes  would  be  drawn  up  in  this  method  by  an  advanced 
student.  The  questions,  etc.,  are  omitted,  the  outlines  of  the  lesson  only 
are  given. 

21 2 


£-. 


324  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Materials.  Utensils. 

1.  Cloths  for  washing  and      i.     Two  enamelled  bowls. 

drying.  2.  China. 

2.  Dusters.  3.  Wooden  tubs. 

3.  Scrubbing-brush.  4.  irons  and  stands. 

4.  Brick-dust.  5.  Spoons  and  knives. 

5.  Turpentine.  6.  Clothes-line  and  pegs. 

6.  Paraffin.  7.  Mangle,  wringer,   cop- 

7.  Small  piece  of  dripping.  per,    and    wooden 

8.  Brown  paper.  tubs. 

Notes. 

1.  The   above-mentioned  utensils  will  be  neatly  ranged 
under  the  table,  and  a  child  will  stand  by  the  teacher  and  put 
them  on  the  table,  as  named  by  the  rest  of  the  Class. 

2.  The    copper    and   wooden    tubs   will   be   cleaned   at 
Practice   Class   only  by  the  methods  stated  at  the  Demon- 
stration. 

3.  Specimens  of  all  other  utensils  will  be  cleaned  by  the 
girls. 

Purpose. 

Tell  the  Class  that  they  are  going  to 
learn  how  to  choose  laundry  utensils,  and 
how  to  take  care  of  them.  The  child  will 


Preparation.  Produce    «<*  as 

named      by      the 
Ask  what  utensils  the  Class  has  been      Q 

in  the  habit  of  using  at  laundry  lessons. 
Presentation. 

i.  State  that  enamelled  bowls  are 
very  suitable,  as  they  do  not  break  if 
allowed  to  slip  through  wet  fingers. 


CHAP.  XII.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        325 


Wash  one  in  a  bowl  of  soapy  water :  call 
attention  of  Class  to  chips  and  so  elicit 
the  reason  for  wiping  dry  to  avoid  rust. 

2.  State  that  china  bowls  ^re  usually 
deeper  than   enamelled  ones,   hence  are 
more  suitable  for  making  starch.     From 
previous  knowledge  of  starch-making  elicit 
the  reason. 

3.  State  that  wooden  tubs  should  be 
scrubbed    with    soap    and    warm    water, 
never   with   soda,   for    soda    (i)    removes 
paint,  (2)  makes  plain  wood  a  bad  colour. 
State  that  clean  water  should  be  left  in 
unpainted  tubs  to  prevent  shrinkage. 

4.  State  that   irons   in  sizes  from   i 
to   4  are  the  most  useful  and  elicit  the 
reason    for    keeping    them    very    clean. 
Wash  one  iron  in  strong  soda-water,  dry, 
and    polish  with    brick-dust.      State  that 
when  put  away,  irons  should  be  greased 
and  wrapped  in  brown  paper.     Elicit  that 
all  irons  must  be  similarly  treated. 

5.  Elicit   reasons   for  using  wooden 
spoons  for  stirring  and  iron   spoons  for 
measuring.     Wash  one  of  each  before  the 
Class. 

6.  State  that  clothes-lines  and  pegs 
must    be    frequently    washed.      Children 
name  consequences   of  dirty  ones   being 
used.     Elicit  that  pegs  should  be  made 
of  wood,  no  metal. 


Show  rusty 
bowl  and  article 
stained  by  it. 


Show  sizes. 


Treat    one    in 
this  way. 
Show  specimens. 


Show  clothes 
with  dirty  line 
marks. 


7.     State  rules  for  care  of  a  mangle. 


326 


Domestic  Economy. 


[IT.  II. 


8.  Explain  the  method  of  cleaning 
the  copper  and  wringers,  eliciting  the 
action  of  paraffin  on  the  copper  and 
turpentine  on  the  rubber  of  wringers. 

Association. 

By  calling  up  past  experience,  elicit 
that  otherwise  good  work  is  sometimes 
spoilt  by  want  of  care  and  cleanliness  of 
utensils.  Children  will  suggest  cases,  e.g. 
(i)  clothes  soiled  by  being  put  over  the 
edge  of  a  dusty  tub,  (2)  clothes  spoilt  by 
dirty  irons,  etc.,  hence 

Generalization. 

Deduce  that  all  laundry  utensils  must 
be  kept  as  clean  as  possible  and  state 
that  the  best  quality  which  can  be  af- 
forded should  be  bought,  for  good  things 
if  taken  care  of  last  much  longer  than 
things  of  an  inferior  quality. 

Application. 

Girls  should  never  take  it  for  granted 
that  utensils  are  clean,  for  dust  and  smuts 
are  constantly  settling.  Therefore  wipe 
every  utensil  before  use,  to  ensure  clean 
work. 


Write  Black- 
board summary  as 
a  Recapitulation. 

Write  prices 
on  the  board. 


Blackboard  Summary. 
Choice  and  Care  of  Laundry    Utensils. 


Utensil. 

Enamelled  Basins. 
China 


Price. 

.  to  !/-. 

t.  to  6</. 


Care  of  utensil. 
Wash  and  dry  thoroughly 
Wash  and  dry. 


VENTILATOR 


Reproduced  by  permission. 


LAUNDRY  CENTRE— PRIM, 


SHEET  IRON  SHELF  WITH 
BRACKETS  TO  CARRY  GAS 

RING    FOR    STARCH   KETTLE 


Gr round    TMoor   PTaTT" 

A.    P.    I.    COTTERELL,    F.S.I.       1900. 


SCHOOL  LAUNDRY  CLASS. 


[To  follow  page  326. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.         327 

Wooden  tubs.  From  i\-.  Scrub  with  warm  water  and 

soap. 
Irons.  <)d.  upwards.  Wash   with   soda-water  and 

polish  with  brick-dust. 

Iron  stands.  $d.  to  6d.  Wash  occasionally. 

Mangle.  so/-  and  upwards.         Unscrew  and  cover  when  not 

in  use. 
Wringer.  7/6  and  upwards.  Rub  rollers  with  turpentine. 

Wash  afterwards. 

Spoons.  id.  to  4</.  j  Wash  f  tl 

Knives.  From  6a.  ) 


APPENDIX. 

Appended  will  be  found  a  Syllabus  of  the  Household 
Management  Course,  a  course  for  which  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion now  gives  a  grant  and  which  will  in  due  time  supplement 
the  isolated  cookery  and  laundry  lessons  given  in  many  schools 
and  centres.  This  especial  syllabus  is  printed  here  by  the  kind 
permission  of  the  Lady  Superintendent  of  the  Bristol  School 
Board.  The  course  is  intended  to  cover  three  years,  and 
students  of  Domestic  Economy  will  be  glad  to  learn  how  this 
scheme  has  been  found  to  work  in  with  the  ordinary  school 
work. 

The  hundred  hours  for  this  subject  demanded  by  the  Code 
seemed  at  first  sight  a  condition  not  easily  to  be  fulfilled,  but 
it  will  be  shown  that  this  is  not  the  case  in  reality.  For  some 
years  past,  since  cookery  became  a  grant-earning  subject,  the 
Domestic  Economy  and  the  Cookery  lessons  have  overlapped 
each  other.  Now  that  a  block  grant  is  given,  the  teaching  of 
the  former  subject  may  with  advantage  be  omitted  from  the 
school  curriculum,  leaving  between  50  and  60  hours  free  to  be 
devoted  to  household  management  and  to  be  transferred  to  the 
latter  course  given  by  the  same  teacher.  This  at  once  does  away 


328  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

with  the  difficulty  of  meeting  the  hundred  hours.  The  second 
stumbling-block  seemed  to  be  the  time  the  children  would  have 
to  be  out  of  school,  but  the  lessons  can  be  arranged,  at  any 
rate  for  Standard  V,  at  a  cookery  centre  so  that  they  need  never 
leave  the  building.  The  classes  are  planned  to  extend  over  the 
whole  school  year  and  may  be  arranged  as  follows  on  four  days 
a  week,  Friday  being  left  free  for  the  making  up  of  lessons  and 
the  filling  in  of  registers. 

Standard  V,  54  girls.  This  set  goes  straight  to  the  centre 
in  time  for  9  a.m.  Prayers  9  to  9.5.  Registration ;  then  follows 
a  demonstration  lasting  \\  hours  until  10.15.  The  54  are 
divided  into  three  sets  of  18,  known  respectively  as  A,  B  and  C. 
At  10.15  eighteen  girls  remain  for  a  practice  class  until  12, 
making  if  hours,  while  the  rest  go  back  to  their  ordinary 
school  work.  In  the  afternoon  Set  B  practise  from  2  to  3.15, 
and  Set  C  from  3.15  to  4.30.  The  following  week  Set  B  stay 
for  the  morning  practice,  and  so  on  until  all  make  up  an  equal 
number  of  hours.  The  first  course  for  Standard  V  divided  as 
above  lasts  6  months.  Then  comes  a  course  of  housewifery 
lasting  3  months,  including  scullery  work  and  thrift  following, 
the  same  division  of  girls  and  the  last  three  months  is  devoted 
to  home  nursing  on  the  same  plan.  Where  practicable  the 
home  nursing  for  Standard  V  may  be  divided  and  half  the  time 
given  to  laundry  work. 

Standards  VI  and  VII  may  be  worked  on  the  same  lines, 
only  laundry  work  must  be  included  and  the  course  is  more 
advanced  in  each  subject.  If  a  scheme  be  drawn  up  for  one 
year  only,  laundry  work  must  be  included.  Grants  for  cookery 
and  laundry  may  be  earned  respectively  even  if  the  whole  scheme 
be  not  carried  out.  A  glance  at  the  syllabus  will  show  what  an 
important  step  in  advance  it  is  over  the  old  method  of  teaching 
cookery  for  40  hours.  The  scheme  follows  the  line  laid 
down  in  the  Code  for  1889  that  the  lessons  should  be  progres- 
sive and  is  drawn  up  on  a  sound  educational  basis.  Education 
has  been  defined  as  a  "preparation  for  complete  living."  We 


CHAP,  xil.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        329 

have  here  a  set  of  lessons  which,  if  intelligently  taught  on  the 
one  side  and  regularly  attended  on  the  other,  may  hope  to 
render  the  girls  of  England  fit  to  take  their  place  as  the  wives 
and  mothers  of  the  future  and  render  the  home  a  successful 
rival  to  the  public-house  and  beer-shop. 


COURSES  OF  INSTRUCTION  IN  HOUSEHOLD  MANAGEMENT, 
COOKERY,  AND  LAUNDRYWORK*. 

Synopsis  of  Syllabus  of  Three  Years'  Instruction  in  Household 
Management  (combining  Practical  Cookery,  Laundrywork, 
and  Housewifery  ivith  Home  Nursing)  at  Centres. 

Junior  Stage— Standards  5  &  6. 

Cookery  section — Standard  5  (Time,  6  months}. 

Care  and  cleaning  of  utensils,  use  of  balance,  clock,  ther- 
mometer. Cookery  principles  and  primary  methods  illustrated 
by  simple  dishes.  The  choice  and  cost  of  materials.  Homely 
measures.  Simple  tests  for  discovering  temperature  of  oven, 
etc. 

Housewifery  section — Standard  5  ( Time,  3  months]. 

Choice  and  cost  of  cooking  utensils  for  a  working  man's 
home.  Care  and  cleaning  of  scullery.  How  to  furnish  a 
kitchen.  Cleaning  a  kitchen.  Combustion  and  fire  lighting. 
Cleaning  flues  and  grate.  Laying  and  lighting  fire.  Construc- 
tion of  sink.  Care  and  cleaning  of  sink.  Disposal  of  kitchen 
refuse.  Thrift.  Using  up  scraps.  Forethought.  Planning 

*  By  kind  permission. 


33O  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

meals.    Marketing.    Choice  of  Food.    Season  foods.    Storage. 
Laying  the  table.     Cleaning  plated  forks  and  spoons,  etc. 

Home  Nursing  section — Standard  5   (Time,  3  months], 

Invalids'  diet,  etc.  Invalid  dishes.  Simple  remedies  for 
common  ailments.  Poultices,  gargles,  fomentations.  Con- 
valescents' diet.  Dishes  suitable  for  a  convalescent.  Infants 
and  children's  diet.  Babies'  food.  Suitable  dinners  for  young 
children.  Laying  Invalid's  tray. 

Laundrywork  section — Standard  6   (Time,  3  months}. 

Care  and  cleaning  of  utensils.  Management  of  fire.  Pro- 
perties of  materials  used  in  Laundrywork.  Disinfecting  and 
removing  stains.  Steeping,  washing,  boiling,  starching  and 
ironing  clothes.  Pegging  out.  Airing. 

Housewifery  section — Standard  6  (Time,  3  months}. 

Practical  housework,  including  daily  and  weekly  bedroom 
and  parlour  work,  etc.  Artificial  light  and  care  of  lamps,  etc. 
Ventilation.  Marketing  and  preparing  Cottage  Dinners.  Thrift. 
Washing  and  mending  clothes. 


Senior  Stage— Standards  6  &  7. 

Cookery  section — Standard  6  (Time,  6  months}. 

Functions  of  food.  Cost,  purchase  and  preparation  of 
nourishing  meals.  More  advanced  dishes  illustrating  over 
again  the  primary  methods  taught  in  the  Elementary  course. 
Constituents  and  dietary  value  of  the  varied  food  stuffs. 
Digestion  of  albumen,  starch,  fat.  Making  preserves.  Vege- 
tarian dishes.  Home-made  bread.  Dishes  suitable  for  invalids 
and  young  children. 


CHAP,  xil.]      The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        331 

Housewifery  section — Standard  7   (Time,   3   months}. 

Choosing  a  house  or  lodgings.  Choice  and  cost  of  furni- 
ture. Drainage.  Ventilation.  Personal  Cleanliness.  Skin. 
Hair.  Baths.  Practical  housework,  including  Spring  and 
Autumn  cleaning.  Preparing  Cottage  dinners.  Washing  and 
mending  clothes. 


Laundrywork  section — Standard  7  (Time,   3  months}. 

Use  of  Clothes.  Structure  and  function  of  the  skin. 
Source,  nature  and  treatment  of  varied  clothing  materials. 
Source  and  properties  of  materials  used  in  Laundrywork. 
Washing  linen,  woollen,  cotton  prints,  muslins  and  laces. 
Starching  and  stiffening  processes.  Ironing  and  goffering. 
Polishing. 


Home  Nursing  sec/ion — Standard  7   (Time,  3  months}. 

Qualifications  of  a  good  nurse.  Care  of  the  patient. 
Arrangement  of  the  bedroom  furniture.  Changing  sheets. 
Bedrests.  Invalid  Cookery.  Common  ailments  and  their 
remedies.  Bandaging.  Poultices.  Fomentations.  Practical 
Housework. 


Housewifery  section — Standard  7   (Time,   3  months). 

General  structure  and  functions  of  the  human  body.  The 
Laws  of  health.  Fresh  Air.  Sunshine.  Wholesome  diet. 
Sensible  clothing.  Personal  Cleanliness.  Work  and  exercise. 
Rest  and  recreation.  Thrift.  Savings  Banks.  Building 
Societies.  Clubs.  Practical  Housework. 

The  3  years'  course  is  divided  into  two  stages  : — (a)  Junior 
(Standards  5  &  6),  and  (b)  Senior  (Standards  6  &  7). 


332 


Domestic  Economy. 


[PT.  II. 


Division  of  Time. 


JUNIOR  STAGE:— 

Cookery  \  year. 

Laundry  work     J     ,, 

Housewifery      \  „ 

Home  Nursing  \  „ 

SENIOR  STAGE  : — 

Cookery  J  „ 

Laundrywork     J  „ 

Housewifery      \  „ 

Home  Nursing  J  ,, 


3  years. 


Complete  3  years'  course  :— 
Food  and  Cookery     i  year. 
Clothing  &  Laundry- 
work  J    ,, 
Housewifery  i     ,, 
Home  Nursing          \    „ 

3  years. 


Analytical  Syllabuses  of  Three  Years'  Instruction  in  Household 
Management  (combining  Practical  Cookery,  Housewifery 
and  Laundrywork}.  at  Centres. 

N.B. — The  course  is  divided  into  two  stages,  each  representing 
eighteen  months'  work,  viz. : — (a)  Junior  Stage — Standards 
5  &  6,  (b)  Senior  Stage — Standards  6  &:  7.  Each  stage  is 
further  subdivided  into  sections  representing  graduated 
courses  of  lessons  in  Cookery,  Laundrywork  and  House- 
wifery with  Home  Nursing.  Each  section  concludes  with 
an  Examination — Oral,  Written,  and  Practical. 

Junior  Stage— Standards  5  &  6. 
Standard  5. 

Section   i  —  Cookery. 
Lesson 

i.  Qualifications  of  a  good  Cook;  Cleaning  Cookery  utensils 
and  washing  dishes.  Scrubbing.  Methods  and  agents 
suitable  for  an  Artisan's  home. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.         333 

Lesson 

2.  Use    of  scales   and    weights.     Weighing   potatoes,    rice, 

flour,    etc.     Potatoes    boiled    in    their    skins.     Baked 
potatoes. 

3.  Use   of    clock   and    thermometer.     Rules    for    choosing 

meat.      Roast    beef.      Boiled    or    steamed    potatoes. 
Gravy. 

4.  Construction  and  management  of  oven.    Scones.    Baking 

powder.     Gravy  browning. 

5.  Bread  made  with  yeast.     Small  seed  (or  currant)  cake. 

6.  Rules   for   choosing  and  boiling  meat.     Boiled  mutton 

and  root  vegetables.     Sauce. 

7.  Milk  puddings.     Eggs.     Rice  pudding.     Poached  egg  on 

toast. 

8.  Principles  of  pastry  making.     Fruit  pie  or  fruit  turnovers. 

9.  How  to  choose  pork.     Rules  for  cooking  pork.     Roast 

pork.     Boiled  greens.     Baked  and  boiled  potatoes. 

10.  Frying.     Batter  making.     Yorkshire  pudding.    Pancakes. 

Browned  crumbs  (using  up  crusts). 

11.  Rules  for  choosing  fish.     Fried  fish.     Homely  measures. 

Simple  tests  for  discovering  temperature  of  oven,  etc. 

12.  Boiling  and  steaming.     Suet  puddings. 

13.  Soup  making.     Lentil  soup.     Vegetables. 

14.  Stewing.     Irish  stew.     Fruit  stewed  in  the  oven. 

15.  How  to  choose  bacon.     Fried  liver  and  bacon.     Scrap 

bread  pudding. 

1 6.  Using  up  the  remains  of  a  joint: — rendered  fat,  bone 

stock,  gravy,  cottage  pie. 

17.  Clarifying  fat.     Vegetables. 

1 8.  Rules  for  grilling  and  broiling.     Grilled  or  broiled  chops. 

Potato  soup. 

19.  Making  porridge,  tea,  coffee,  and  cocoa. 

20. 1   T 

\  Revision. 

21.  J 

22.  Examination. 


334  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Section  2  — Housewifery. 
Lesson 

1.  Importance  of  cleanliness  in  the  home.     Washing  dishes, 

glasses,  etc.     Cleaning  a  scullery. 

2.  Dust,   its  composition.     How   to    choose  and    purchase 

brushes  and  cleaning  materials.    Sweeping  and  dusting. 
Cleaning  plated  goods. 

3.  Construction  and  management  of  stove.     Cleaning  flues 

and  grate.     Laying  and  lighting  a  fire.     Average  cost 
of  sticks  and  coal.     Cleaning  boots. 

4.  Choice  and  cost  of  cooking  utensils  for  a  working  man's 

home.     Cleaning  a  kitchen. 

5.  How   to    furnish    a    kitchen    (with    cost).     Disposal    of 

kitchen  refuse.     Laying  the  table. 

6.  Thrift.     Using  up  scraps.     Stock  pot.     Cheap  soups. 

7.  Rules  for  cold  meat  cookery.    Dinner  of  re-cooked  meat. 

8.  Forethought.     Planning    meals.     Re-cooked    fish.     Col- 

cannon. 

9.  Marketing.     Choice  of  food.     Season  foods.     Any  cheap 

seasonable  dishes. 

10.     Storage  and  preservation  of  food.     Tinned  foods.     Any 
tinned  meat  dishes,  and  jam  or  marmalade. 

Section  3 — Home  Nursing. 
Lesson 

1.  How  infants  should  be  held  and  carried.     Suitable  diet 

for  infants.    Preparing  babies'  food.    Care  and  cleaning 
of  feeding  bottles. 

2.  The  care  of  invalids.     Rules  for  invalid  cookery.     Beef- 

tea,  toast,  lemonade. 

3.  Serving  invalids'  meals.     Steamed  custard,  milk  jelly  and 

barley  water.     Laying  an  invalid's  tray. 

4.  Suitable  dietary  for  convalescents.    Steamed  fish  or  chop. 

Invalid  cake. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        335 

Lesson 

5.  Suitable    dietary   for    young    children.     Mutton    Broth, 

Vegetables,  Milk  Pudding.     Fruit. 

6.  Revision. 

7.  Common  ailments  and  their  remedies : — Colds  and  sore 

throats,  Gruel,  linseed  tea  and  gargles. 

8.  Common     ailments    continued  : — headache,    toothache, 

earache,  bruises  and  sprains.     Bandaging. 

9.  How  to  treat  scalds,  burns  and  cuts.     Bandaging. 

10.  Boils,    gatherings   and    inflammation.     Bread    Poultices. 

Linseed  Poultices.     Hot  fomentations. 

11.  Examination. 


Standard  6. 

Section  4 — Laundrywork. 
Lesson 

1.  Preparations  for  washing  day.     Use  and  care  of  utensils. 

Hard  and  soft  water.  Use  of  soap,  soda  and  Ammonia. 
Their  average  cost.  Making  melted  soap. 

2.  Use   of    melted    soap   and   vinegar.     Washing   flannels, 

woollens  and  stockings.  Rules  for  hanging  and  drying 
clothes. 

3.  Disinfecting  and  purifying  clothes.     Use  of  salt,  sanitas, 

and  blue.  Washing  handkerchiefs.  Management  of 
fire  and  irons.  Arrangement  of  ironing  table.  Ironing 
handkerchiefs. 

4.  Removing   tea,    fruit,   and   iron    mould  stains.     Use  of 

simple  agents.  Washing  body  linen  and  bed  linen. 
Pegging  out. 

5.  Sprinkling   and   ironing    body   and    bed    linen.     Airing 

clothes. 

6.  Stiffening   agents.     Use    of    starch,    borax,    and    tallow. 

Making  clear  starch.  Washing  and  starching  prints  and 
muslins. 


336  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Lesson 

7.  Ironing  prints  and  muslins.     Washing  collars  and  cuffs. 

8.  Cold  water  starching.     Use  of  turpentine.     Making  cold 

water  starch.     Starching  and  ironing  collars  and  cuffs. 

9.  Washing  table  linen.     Starching  and  ironing  collars  and 

cuffs. 

10.     Ironing  table  linen.     Revision. 
n.     Examination. 

Section  5 — Housewifery. 
Lesson 

1.  Importance   of    cleanliness    in   the    home.     Order   and 

method  in  the  daily  work.     Daily  routine.     Making  a 
bed  and  other  daily  work. 

2.  Rules   for  choosing  a  house  or  lodgings.     Ventilation. 

Daily  housework. 

3.  Artificial  light.    Candles,  lamps,  gas.    Best  kind  of  lamp. 

How  to  extinguish  fire  caused  by  lamp.     Cleaning  and 
trimming  lamps.     Daily  housework. 

4.  Thrift.     How  it  may  be  shown  in  marketing  and  in  the 

planning  and  preparation  of  meals  and  in  the  washing 
and  mending  of  clothes.     Daily  housework. 

5.  Special  weekly  work  in  the  house.     Cleaning  materials. 

Making  furniture  polish.     Preparing  rooms  for  weekly 
cleaning. 

6.  Drainage.   Care  of  drains.   Construction  of  sinks.  Weekly 

housework. 

7.  Water  supply.     Cleaning  water  cistern.     Weekly  house- 

work. 

8.  Care  and  cleaning  of  bathrooms.     Hairtidies.     Washing 

brushes. 

9.  Personal  cleanliness.     Skin.     Hair.     Washing  a  sponge. 

10.  Choice  and  cost  of  cottage  furniture. 

11.  Examination. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        337 

Senior  Stage — Standards  6  &  7. 
Standard  6. 

Section   i — Food  and  Cookery. 
Lesson 

1.  Food:  its  functions.     Classification  based  on  functions. 

Milk  as  an  example  of  "perfect"  food.  Proportions 
for  milk  puddings.  Rice  and  sago  puddings.  Verifying 
homely  measures. 

2.  Yeast :    its  action  in  bread  making.     Brown  bread  and 

white  bread.  Verifying  simple  tests  for  discovering 
temperature. 

3.  Constituents    of    food.      Classification    based    on    con- 

stituents.    Roast  meat,  gravy,  Yorkshire  pudding. 

4.  A   simple   account   of  digestion   (mouth,   stomach,    and 

intestines)  and  the  digestive  fluids.  Solubility  of  sugar. 
How  it  is  assimilated.  Cheap  cakes. 

5.  Digestion  of  starchy  foods.     Why  they  need  thorough 

cooking.  Cornflour  mould.  Cup  of  arrowroot.  Arrow- 
root pudding. 

6.  Albumen  and  its  near  relations.     Digestion  of  Albumen. 

Poached  egg.  Grilled  chop  or  steak.  Boiled  haricot 
beans. 

7.  How  fat  and  oils  are  digested.     Fried  or  boiled  bacon. 

Salad. 

8.  Factors    which    determine    the    dietary   value   of    foods. 

Discussion  upon  the  dietary  value  of  familiar  dishes. 
Stewed  tripe.  Welsh  rarebit. 

9.  Suitable  dinners  for  outdoor  and  manual  workers.     Hot 

pot,  and  suet  puddings ;  or,  Exeter  stew  and  savoury 
balls. 

10.     Suitable  dinners  for  sedentary  workers.   Boiled  or  steamed 
fish  and  sauce.     Stewed  fruit. 

B  22 


33$  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Lesson 

n.     Rules  for  pastry  making.     Beef-steak  pie.     Syrup  tart. 

12.  Revision. 

13.  1  The  economy  and  dietary  value  of  soups  and  broths,  and 

14.  J     of  leguminous  foods.     Dietary  value  of  fresh  vegetables 

and  fresh  fruit.     Fruit  pie  or  fruit  pasties.     Stock,  bone 
soup,  Scotch  broth,  vegetable  soups. 

15.  Cheese  cookery,   and    revision    of  the   dietary  value  of 

cheese.     Cheese  and  potato  pudding.    Potatoes  cooked 
in  their  skins. 

1 6.  Beverages.     Tea,  coffee,  and  cocoa.     Breakfast  rolls  or 

biscuits  or  scones. 

17.  The  principles  of  meat  cookery.     Boiled  salt  meat  or 

sheep's  head.     Vegetables. 

1 8.  Use  and  abuse  of  condiments.  Hashed  meat  and  mashed 

potatoes. 

19.  Rules  for  cooking  vegetables.     Some  vegetarian  dishes. 

20.  Revision  of  the  main  processes  of  digestion.     Beef-steak 

pudding. 

21.  Revision   of  suitable   dietary  for   different   occupations. 

Cornish  pasties  or  sausage  rolls. 

22.  Examination. 


Standard  7. 

Section  2 — Housewifery. 
Lesson 

r.  How  to  choose  a  house  or  lodgings.  Choice  and  cost 
of  furniture.  Examination  of  furniture  in  the  centre. 
Daily  housework. 

2.  Management  of  income  and  expenditure.     Food  allow- 

ance.    Proportionate   cost   of  meals.     Marketing   and 
preparing  cottage  dinners.     Any  housework. 

3.  The  housewife  as  organiser.     Daily  and  weekly  routine. 

Preparing  rooms  for  weekly  cleaning. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.        339 

Lesson 

4.  Cleanliness  in  the  home.     Dust :  its  source,  nature  and 

dangers.  Cleaning  walls  and  ceilings.  Washing  brushes. 

5.  Importance    of    Ventilation,    and    simple    methods    of 

securing  it.     Any  weekly  housework. 

6.  The    functions    and    structure    of    the    skin.     Personal 

cleanliness.  Cleaning  a  bathroom  and  other  weekly 
housework. 

7.  The  use  of  clothes.   Care  and  cleaning  of  clothing.    Hints 

for  washing  day.  Any  housework,  including  washing 
and  mending  clothes. 

8.  Management  of  spring  and  autumn  cleaning.  Preparation 

for  special  cleaning. 

9.  How  to  guard  against  moth    and   damp.     Turning  out 

drawers  and  cupboards.     Cleaning  skins  and  furs. 

10.  Drainage.    Flushing  and  Cleaning  Pipes.    Special  House- 

work. 

11.  Examination. 

Section  3 — Clothing  and  Laundry  work. 
Lesson 

1 .  Sources  of  hard  and  soft  water.    Action  of  water  on  soap. 

How  hard  water  may  be  softened.  Flannels  and 
woollens  :  their  source  and  nature.  Action  of  different 
degrees  of  heat  upon  them.  Washing  flannels  and 
woollens. 

2.  Soap :    its  composition   and   manufacture.     Cotton  as  a 

material  for  clothing.  Washing  bed  and  body  clothes. 
Ironing  handkerchiefs. 

3.  Linen  as  a  material  for  clothing.    Starch  :  its  manufacture 

and  use.  Washing  table  linen.  Making  clear  starch. 
Ironing  underclothing. 

4.  Choice  and  cost  of  laundrywork  utensils  for  a  working 

man's  home.  Washing  collars,  cuffs  and  fronts.  Ironing 
table  linen. 

22 2 


34O  Domestic  Economy.  [PT.  II. 

Lesson 

5.  Rules  for  starching  and  glossing  linen.     Starching,  iron- 

ing,  and  polishing  collars,  cuffs  and   fronts.     Making 
gum  water. 

6.  Action    of    Alkalies   on    colours.      Washing   white   and 

coloured  muslins,  silks  and  lace.     Ironing  silks. 

7.  Revision    of    theory — lessons     i — 3.     Washing    collars, 

cuffs  and  fronts.     Ironing  muslin.     Goffering  lace. 

8.  Revision  of  theory — lessons  4 — 6.     Washing  a  blouse. 

Starching,    ironing    and    polishing    collars,    cuffs    and 
fronts. 

9.  Revision  of  theory — Junior  stage,  section  4,  lessons  3  and 

4.     Ironing  a  blouse.     Washing  a  shirt. 

10.  General    revision.     Starching,    ironing    and   polishing   a 

shirt. 

11.  Examination. 


Section  4 — Home  Nursing. 

Lesson 

1.  Qualifications  of  a  good  nurse.    Making  an  invalid's  bed. 

Changing  the  sheets.     Bed-rests. 

2.  Ventilation  of  the  sick  room.     Arrangement  of  the  furni- 

ture.    Temperature  of  the  room.    How  to  make  up  the 
fire  quietly. 

3.  Bed  sores  :  their  prevention  and  their  cure.    Washing  the 

patient.     Changing  linen. 

4.  Treatment  for  fainting.     Poisons  :  treatment  until  Doctor 

arrives.     Some  sick-room  dishes.     Bandaging. 

5.  Treatment  after  drowning  to  restore   breathing.     Some 

sick-room  dishes.     Bandaging. 

6.  Infants'   complaints  requiring  urgent  treatment :    Croup, 

Convulsions,  Diarrhoea,  Constipation.    Preparing  infants' 
food.     Bandaging. 


CHAP.  XII.]     The  Teaching  of  Domestic  Economy.         341 

Lesson 
7.     Infectious    diseases :    isolation    and    general    treatment. 

Practical  housework. 
Revision  of  common  ailments  and  their  remedies. 

Junior  stage — Section  3,  lessons  8 — 10. 
Making  gargles,  poultices  and  fomentations. 
Examination. 


Section  5 — Housewifery. 
Lesson 

1.  General  structure  of  the  human  body. 

2.  Structure  and  care  of  the  teeth,  skin  and  hair. 

3.  Circulation  and  respiration.     Importance  of  ventilation. 

4.  Digestion  and  assimilation.  Advantages  of  a  mixed  diet. 

5.  Fresh  air  and  sunshine.      Wholesome   food.      Personal 

cleanliness. 

6.  Clothing :  its  uses  and  abuses.    Clothing  and  occupation. 

Suitable  clothing  for  infants,  children  and  adults. 

7.  Work  and  exercise,  rest  and  recreation.      Temperance. 

Summary  of  the  laws  of  health. 

8.  Thrift.     Income  and  expenditure.     Portioning  out  stated 

incomes.     Keeping  accounts. 

9.  Savings  banks.     Building  societies.     Clubs. 

10.  Homes  and  home  makers.     Formation  of  habits.     Cha- 

racter building.   The  influence  of  family  life  on  nationa 
life.     Revision. 

11.  Examination. 


INDEX. 


Accounts  199 
Acids  185,   220 
Aerated  waters  264 
Afferent  nerves  5 
Air  22,  42,   168 
Airing  307,   308 
Albumens  68,  73,  99 
Albumoses  68,  73,  99 
Alcohol  265,  266 
Alcoholic  beverages  265 
Alkalies  185,   216,   217 
Allspice  258 
Almonds  115,   259 
Ammonia  51,  56,   217 
Amoeba  3,  53,   133 
Angelica  115 
Antiseptics  18,    139 
Apples  106,  255 
Arteries   151,    188 
Artichokes  108,  249,   252 
Asparagus  108,   251,  252 
Aspect  164 
Attention  279 


Bacon  234 

Bacteria  8,   16,  35,  51,  60,   74,  8: 

92,   132,   148,    154 
Baking  141,   270,   292,  294 
Baking  powder  261,   262 
Bananas   106,   109,  256 
Barley-water  244,  248 
Baths  1 88 


Bath-room  174 

Bay  leaves  258 

Beans  105,   254 

Bed   182 

Bed-sores  183 

Bed -room  164,  207 

Beef  88,  94,   230,  231 

Beef-tea  276,  277 

Beer  266,  267 

Beetroot  107,   250 

Benefit  societies  196,   197 

Berries  255 

Bites  191 

Blackboard  279,   280 

Blankets  208,  224 

Bleeding  188,   189 

Blood  93 

Blue  218 

Boiling  140,  270,  271,  294,  295,  296 

Boots  214 

Borax  218 

Brain   in 

Braising  141,   274,  275 

Bran  226 

Brandy  268 

Breathing  33,   35,  39,  43 

Bricks  164 

Broiling  274 

Bruises  185 

Burgundy  268 

Burns  243 

Butter  112 

Buttermilk  243 


344 


Index. 


Cabbage  no,  119,  257 

Caffeine  263 

Calico  305,  306,  307 

Capers  257 

Capillaries  189 

Carbohydrates  66,  68,  73,  94,   101 

Carbolic  25,  27,  47,  51,   56,  62 

Cardamoms  258 

Carpets  208 

Carrots  107,  250 

Casein  68,  91,  243 

Celery  108,   119,  251 

Cells  4,  ii 

Cellulose  68,  81,  133,  140 

Cereals  98,   104,   109,   119,  247 

Charcoal  222 

Champagne  268 

Cheese  92,  94,  243 

Cheques  198 

Cherries   106,  256 

Chervil  115 

Chestnuts  105,   no,  257 

Chewing  127 

Chickens  238 

Chicory  263 

Chives  250 

Chloride  of  lime  187 

Chocolate  264 

Cinnamon  258 

Claret  268 

Clothes  38,  149,  216,  224,  307,  308 

Clothing  304,  306,  307,  309 

Cocoa  264 

Cocoanut   115 

Coffee  263,  264 

Cook  191,  203,  204 

Cold  meat  275 

Condensed  milk   139 

Condiments  145,  257 

Condy's  fluid  182 

Construction  164 

Convalescence  191 

Convulsions  187 

Cotton  305 

Cream  242,  243 

Cream  of  tartar  261 

Cucumbers  106,  253 

Curd  91 

Curry  powder  258 

Custard  powder  246 


Dates  106,  109,  256 
Dextrin  68,   104 
Diet  75,  78,  84,  86,  93 
Discount  198 
Disinfectants  179,  187 
Disinfecting  227 
Dislocation  190 
Doctor  184,  185,  186 
Dolly  tub  221 
Doors  165,  209,  210 
Drains  173,   174,  178,   179 
Dripping  112 
Ducks  238 
Dust  32,  42,  53 

Ear  185 

Education  278 

Economy  192 

Efferent  nerves  5 

Eggs  92,   129,  245,  246 

Egg  yolk  1 1 1 

Electric  light  171 

Emetics  185,  186 

Emulsion  70,  71,    112,   127,   130 

Endive  108 

Excitants  186 

Eye  185 

Fats  67,  69,  74,  94,  in,  114,  134, 

140 

Fatty  foods  301,  302,  303,  304 
Fennel   1 1 5 

Fermentation  265,  267 
Fermented  liquors  265 
Ferments  138 
Fever  186,  187 
Figs  i 06,    109,  256 
Filtration   175 
Fire  178 

Fire-irons  208,  209 
Fish  90,  94,  240,  741 
Flageolets  253 
Flannel  223,  306 
Floors  165,  2ir 
Flour  100,  103,  125,   129 
Flues  177 
Food   65,   86,  127,   179,  180,   191, 

192,  193,  205,  229,  257 
Foods  (lessons  on)   286,  287,   288, 

289,  298,   299 


Index. 


345 


Foodstuffs  65,   75,  126 
Fractures  190 
Fresh  air  42 
Fruit  57,  255 
Frying  272,  273,  274 
Frying  (lessons  on)  297,  298 
Fungi  99 
Furnishing  180 
Furniture  40,  43 
Furniture  polish  2 1 1 


Game  90,   119,  239 

Gallery  280 

Garlic  250 

Gas  170 

Gas  stoves  177,  284 

Gastric  juice  126,    128,   130 

Geese  238 

Gelatine  81,  88,  129,  134,  141 

Gherkins  253 

Gin  268 

Ginger  258 

Globe  artichokes  252 

Globulins  68,  89,  99 

Glycogen  101 

Good  conductors  306,   309 

Grapes  105,  256 

Grates  208 

Grease  178,   210 

Green  plants  9 

Green  vegetables  251 

Grilling  142,   274 

Grilling  (lessons  on)  292,  293,  294 

Groats  248 

Guinea-fowls  238 


Haemorrhage   188 

Hard  water  49,  56 

Haricots  253 

Hearths  209 

Heating  209 

Herbs  259 

House  163 

Household  management  in  Elemen- 
tary Schools  327,  328,  329 

Household  management,  Syllabus 
of  329 

Housekeeping  192,   193 


Housemaid  194,   204,  205,   206 
House  refuse  174 
Housewifery,   163 

Iceland  moss  254 

Illustration  279,   280 

Inattention  279,  280 

Income  193,   194 

Income-tax   197 

Infection  40,    148,   160 

Inoculation   19 

Inorganic  matter  33,  49,   55 

Insurance  195 

Irish  moss  254 

Iron  120,   122 

Ironing  222 

Irons  222 

Irritants  186 

Kitchen  176 
Knives  213 
Kola  264 
Koumiss  131 

Lace  225,  226 

Lake- water  46,  51,  61,  63 

Lamb  235,  236 

Lamps,   171 

Lard  112 

Larder  164,   179,  180 

Laundry  194,  205,   214 

Lead  50,  57 

Lemons  119,   256,  259 

Lentils  254 

Lessons  (Notes  of)  281,  282,  286, 

292,   293,  294—327 
Lettuce  252 
Lighting  169,   170 
Lime  49,  56,  120,   121 
Linoleum  208 
Linseed  n6 
Liver  90,   i i i 

Living  substance  3,  65,    126 
Louvre  169 
Lungs  33,   35,  43 


Mace  258 
Machinery  220,  221 


346 


Index 


Maize  248 

Malted  foods  192 

Malting  103 

Maltose  266 

Marble  211 

Marrows  106 

Marsala  263 

Meat  229,  236,  237 

Medlars  255 

Melons  106 

Micro-organisms  20 

Milk    68,    70,    101,   102,    114,   119, 

130,   131,  241,   242,  243,  244 
Morels  254 
Moths  207 
Mould  20,  34 
Muscular  tone  153 
Mushrooms  254 
Mustard  108,  257 
Mutton  232,  234 

Narcotics  186 

Nerves  80,   in 

Nervous  system  4,   143 

Nitrates  52,  58 

Nitrites  52,  58 

Nitrogen  47,  75 

Nitrous  oxide  31 

Notes  of  lessons  281,  282,  286—327 

Nutmegs  258 

Nuts  119,   124 

Oats  104,   116,   124,  248 

Oils  117,  259,  260 

Oil  stoves  171,   177 

Olive  oil  115 

Onions  97,   108 

Oranges  256 

Order  285 

Organic  matter  33,   34,  38,  50,  55, 

58,59 
Organism  3 
Oxygen  22,  25,  43,  46 
Oysters  90,  94 

Pancreas  90 
Paraffin  171,  219,  220 
Parasites  10 
Parsnips,  97,  250 


Pathogenic  bacteria  16,  35,  54,  60 

Peaches  106 

Pears  106,  255 

Peas  99,   105,  119,   253 

Pectine  83,   106 

Peptonising  192 

Pheasants  239 

Phosphorus  122 

Pictures  209 

Pigeons  239 

Plants  8 

Plate  205,  212 

Plums  1 06 

Polenta  257 

Polish  2 1 1 

Polishing  225 

Pork  233,  234 

Port  268 

Potash  217 

Potatoes  97,   107,   119,   249 

Poultry  90,  237 

Preparation  281 

Preserving  256 

Principles  269,   270,  271,  772 

Proteids  229 

Protene  92 

Protoplasm  66,  78 

Pulse  98,   105,   109,   119,  253 

Quantities  195 
Questions  280,  281 
Quince  255 

Rabbits  238 

Rain  water  46,  51,  59,  61 

Ranges  176,   177,  178,  282 

Refuse  (house)  174 

Registry  offices  200 

Remedies  184 

Reserve  materials  97 

Revalenta  Arabica  254 

Rhubarb  108 

Rice  248 

Roasting   141,   269 

Roasting  (lessons  on)  292,  293,  294 

Roof  164 

Rooms  282 

Roots  249,  250 

Rum  268 

Rye  247 


Index. 


347 


Salad  252 

Saline  waters  50,   57 

Saliva   102,   126,    128,    143 

Salsify  250 

Salt  260,   261 

Salts  66,  71,  79,  89,  94,  1 18,  120,  260 

Sand   179 

Saner  Kraut   251 

Savings-bank   196 

Scalds   184 

Scrubbing  210 

Seakale  251 

Sebaceous  glands  37,    156 

Secretion   144,   145 

Seed  97 

Servants    194,   195,   200,   201,  202, 

203,  204,  205 
Sheets  182 
Sherry  268 
Sick-room   181 
Silk  225,   305,  307 
Sink  178,    179 

Skin  34,  43,  156 
Soap  49,  56,  216 
Soap  jelly  219 

Soda  217 

Soda-water  264 

Sodium  chloride  50 

Soil   164 

Sorrel  252 

Soup  142 

Spices  258 

Spinach  251 

Spirits  205,  268 

Spore  12,   13,  34 

Spring  cleaning  207 

Spring  water  46,  50,  61 

Stains,   226,  227 

Starch  218,  219 

Starch  (lessons  on)   299,   300,   301 

Stays   152 

Steaming  271 

Sterilization   18,   132 

Stewing  141,  272 

Stewing  (lessons  on)  294,  295,  296, 
297 

Stings  191 

Stock  142,  275,  276 

Stone  fruit  256 

Stores  179,   180 


Suet  in 
Sugar   104,   109 
Sunlight  41 
Sweat  38,    156 
Sweeping  210 
Sweet  potatoes   249 
Syllabub   131 

Tables  284 
Tannin  262,  263 
Tartaric  acid   261 
Taxes  193 
Tax  (income-)   197 
Tea  262,  263 
Teaching  278 
Temperature  163 
Theine  262,  263 
Thermometer  184 
Thrift   192,   193,    195 
Thymus  90 
Tobin's  tubes  169 
Toilet  ware  212 
Tomatoes  252 
Tongue  90 
Toxines  58,  62 
Tripe  90,  95,  231 
Tubers  249 
Turkeys  238 
Turnips  108,  250 

Unconsciousness  185 

Urea  65,  67 

Utensils,  lessons  on  laundry  323 

Valves  (Sheringham)   169 

Vanilla  259 

Varicose  veins  189 

Vascular  system  4 

Veal  235,  236 

Veins  151,   189 

Vegetables  246,  247 

Vegetable  marrows  252 

Venison  239 

Ventilation  37,   165,   166,  168,  169, 

170 

Ventilation  (lessons  on)  310 — 323 
Vinegar  259 
Vomiting  148 

Wages  1 94 


348 


Index. 


Walking  skirts   154 
Walls  165,  209 
Washing  223 
Washing  powders  219 
Water  45,  49,  50,  56,  61,  66,  72, 
79,  94,  118,   123,   175,   176,  216 
Water-closet  174 
Water-cress  108 
Wheat  247 
Wheat  grain  97,   102 


Whisky  213 

Windows  165,   209,  210 
Woodwork  164,   210 
Wool-sorters'  disease  35 

Yeast  20 

Yellow  marrow  1 1 1 

Yolk  of  egg  in,  j  1 2 

Zinc  213 


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also  contains  a  vocabulary,  is  rendered  noteworthy  by  the  careful  table  of 
'syntactical  usages,'  which  considerably  enhances  the  value  of  the  book." 

3000/9/08 


Xenophon.  Anabasis,  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V  and  VI.  Edited, 

with  introduction,  notes  and  vocabulary,  by  G.  M.  EDWARDS,  M.A. 
ij.  6d.  each. 

School  Guardian. — "We  can  imagine  nothing  better  for  a  first  aquaint- 
ance  with  any  of  these  authors  than  such  simple  and  complete  editions  as 

the  Cambridge  Series  offers  to  the  student We  heartily  commend  these 

books  to  the  notice  of  teachers  of  elementary  classics  in  whatever  kind  of 
school." 

Gray.  Ode  on  the  Spring  and  The  Bard.  Edited  by 
D.  C.  TOVEY,  M.A.  Bd. 

Gray.     Ode  on  the  Spring  and  Elegy  in  a  Country 

Churchyard.     Edited  by  D.  C.  TOVEY,  M.A.     8d. 

Macaulay.   John  Bunyan.    Edited  by  ARTHUR  D.  INNES, 

M.A.     js. 

Schoolmaster. — "The  introduction  and  notes  are  practical  and  well 
written.  We  have  never  seen  a  more  concise  and  useful  hand-book  for 
students." 

Macaulay.  John  Milton.  Edited  by  J.  H.  FLATHER, 
M.A.  I*.  6d. 

School  World. — "This  is  another  of  the  scholarly,  thorough,  and  withal 
most  readable  editions  of  English  classics  which  we  are  now  well  ac- 
customed to  expect  from  the  Dean  of  Emmanuel  College,  Cambridge.  It 
would  indeed  be  hard  to  plan  any  treatment  of  this  subject  more  compre- 
hensive than  the  introduction  to  this  little  volume A  book  as  fertile  in 

suggestiveness  as  it  is  accurate  in  scholarship." 

Milton.      Comus    and    Lycidas.      Edited,   with    intro- 
duction, notes,  glossary  and  appendix,  by  A.  W.  VERITY,  M.A.     is. 
Educational  Times. — "We  can  heartily  recommend  the  book." 

A  Short  History  of  the  Greeks,  from  the  Earliest 
Times  to  B.C.  146.  By  EVELYN  S.  SHUCKBURGH,  Litt.D.  Crown 
8vo.  With  numerous  Maps,  full-page  and  text  illustrations.  4^.  6d. 

School  World. — "Mr  Shuckburgh's  work  is  sound,  scholarly,  and  in- 
teresting." 

Outlines  of  the  History  of  the  English  Language. 

By  T.  N.  TOLLER,  M.A.     Crown  8vo.     45. 

School  World. — "No  better  proof  could  be  afforded  of  Prof.  Toller's 
thorough  mastery  of  English  in  all  phases  of  its  development  than  the  pro- 
duction of  the  work  under  consideration.  It  is  distinguished  by  uniform 
accuracy  of  information,  the  spirit  of  scientific  research,  and  a  high  and  just 
appreciation  of  the  educational  value  of  English.  Teachers  and  students 
will  find  in  this  new  book  nothing  which  they  will  have  to  unlearn  after- 
wards." 


A   Short  History  of  the  Expansion  of  the  British 

Empire.  1500 — 1902.  By  W.  H.  WOODWARD.  Second  Edition, 
Enlarged.  Covering  the  Peace  of  Pretoria,  1902.  Crown  8vo.  With 
10  Maps.  4S. 

Athenceum. — "Thoroughly  to  be  recommended." 

University  Extension  Journal. — "One  of  the  best  books  of  the  kind 
we  have  lately  come  across.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  provide  a 
text-book  on  this  all-important  subject,  but  this  is  the  first  which  has'come 
under  our  notice  which  seems  to  attain  a  real  measure  of  success." 

An  Outline  History  of  the  British  Empire  from  1500 
to  1902.      By  W.  H.  WOODWARD.    With  6  Maps.     is.  6d.  net. 
Guardian. — "This  book  is  concise,   correct,  and  well  balanced,  and 
gives  in  moderate  cojnpass  all  the  information  that  the  ordinary  school-boy 
or  training  college  student  may  be  expected  to  assimilate  and  remember  of 
the  subject." 

Geometrical  Drawing.  With  Notes  and  Examples.  By 
W.  H.  BLYTHE,  M.A.  Pt.  I.  Plane  and  Elementary  Solid,  is.  6d. 
Pt.  II.  Solid  or  Descriptive  Geometry.  is. 

Geometry  for  Young  Beginners.     An   introduction  to 

Theoretical  and  Practical  Geometry.  By  F.  W.  SANDERSON,  M.A. 
is.  4d. 

The  Education  of  the  Young,  in  the  Republic  of  Plato. 
Translated  into  English,  with  notes  and  introduction,  by  BERNARD 
BOSANQUET,  M.A.,  LL.D.  Crown  8vo.  is.  6d. 

Book/nan. — "An  interesting  volume,  bringing  before  us  all  that  is  to  be 
found  in  Plato's  'Republic'  concerning  the  education  of  the  young.  It 
should  take  a  high  place  in  this  Series  for  Schools  and  Training  Colleges." 

Aristotle  on  Education  :  being  Extracts  from  the  Ethics 
and  Politics,  translated  and  edited  by  JOHN  BURNET.  Crown  8vo. 

is.  6d. 

Guardian. — "In  this  unassuming  little  volume  Professor  Burnet  has 
performed  a  real  service  for  students  of  pedagogics.  His  book  should  be 
read  by  them  as  a  companion  and  sequel  to  Professor  Bosanquet's  on 
Education  in  the  Republic  of  Plato." 

The  Making  of  Character :  some  Educational  Aspects 

of  Ethics.    By  JOHN  MACCUNN,  M.A. ,  LL.D.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth, 

is.  6d.     Cloth  extra,  gilt  top,  $s.  6d. 

Practical  Teacher. — "This  is  a  wholly  admirable  little  treatise  full  of 
sound  ethical  principle,  expressed  in  clear  and  pleasant  style.  It  is  a  book 
to  read  and  re-read,  and  will  amply  repay  the  closest  study." 

Domestic  Economy  in  Theory  and  Practice.     A  Text- 
book for  Teachers  and  Students  in  Training,  by  MARION  GREENWOOD 
BIDDER   and   FLORENCE   BADDELEY.      Crown   8vo.     With   several 
diagrams.     4^.  6d. 
Daily  News. — "This  book  bids  fair  tw  become  a  standard  work  upon 

the  subject.... It  seems  to  us  likely  to  prove  extremely  useful  to  any  woman 

who  prides  herself  on  the  right  ordering  of  a  house  and  upon  the  good 

health  of  the  inmates." 

[  Turn  over 


A  Manual  of  School  Hygiene,  written  for  the  guidance 
of  Teachers  in  Day-schools.  By  EDWARD  W.  HOPE,  M.D.,  and 
EDGAR  A.  BROWNE,  F.R.C.S.E.  Crown  8vo.  With  several  dia- 
grams. 3-y.  6d. 

Journal  of  Education.—  "This  volume  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all 
teachers  and  managers  of  schools." 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION 
IN  MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  EUROPE. 

General  Editor:   W.  H.  WOODWARD. 

• 
Part  I.     Medieval  Schools  and  Universities. 

[In  preparation. 

Part  II.     Studies  in  Education  during  the  age  of  the 

Renaissance,    1400 — 1600.      By   W.  H.  WOODWARD.      Crown   8vo. 
4J.  6d.  net.  [Ready. 

Tribune. — "Those  who  are  interested  in  the  genesis  of  the  idea  of  a 
liberal  education,  as  well  as  those  who  are  concerned  to  defend  the  classical 
tradition  of  our  old  grammar  and  public  schools,  will  find  it  at  once 
instructive  and  stimulating." 

Guardian. — "The  book  is  one  to  be  studied  by  all  teachers  who  wish 
to  obtain  a  rational  view  of  their  work  from  its  historical  side." 

Part   III.      Pioneers   of    Modern    Education    in    the 

Seventeenth   Century.      By   Prof.  J.   W.   ADAMSON.      Crown   8vo. 
4.?.  6d.  net.  [Ready. 

School  World. — "Professor  Adamson's  book  is,  undoubtedly,  of  high 
value.  He  has  gone  to  a  historical  subject  in  the  historical  spirit.  His 
book  embodies  independent  research.  It  makes  for  the  disclosure  of 
educational  principles,  by  presenting  adequate  material  for  their  study." 

Part  IV.     Theory  and  Practice  of  Education  in  the 

Eighteenth  Century.     By  Prof.  FOSTER  WATSON.     [/;/  preparation. 

Part  V.     Education  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

[In  preparation. 


CAMBRIDGE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS   WAREHOUSE, 

C.  F.  CLAY,  MANAGER, 
ftonfcon:  FETTER  LANE. 

100,   PRINCES   STREET. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


